Solo Moments
by Iverna
Summary: A series of vignettes centered around the Solo kids as they grow up. Nothing too serious, just an exploration of some of the more normal moments of their lives.
1. The Mess We Make

_This is__ a series of small events/moments from the Solo kids' lives as they grow up. It may not end up being in chronological order. It's set while the kids are growing up. I just wanted to explore the more "normal" everyday aspect of the Solo family's life, and this is what I've come up with. I hope you like it! _

* * *

**The Mess We Make**

_(Set in 15 ABY) _

They were discussing the new X-Wing model over cups of caf when there was a loud crash. Luke Skywalker and his brother-in-law exchanged a look, caf and Incom's merits and failures forgotten.

"Jaina?" Han called. "Jacen!"

The twins had disappeared into their playroom after saying hello to Luke, as they usually did. He'd caught something about "pirates" in their excited chatter, before they had run off. Only Anakin had remained with the two men, quietly playing on the couch beside Luke.

Theoretically, Threepio was meant to be keeping an eye on the twins, but Luke realised belatedly that he didn't hear the droid's prissy voice amid the muffled shouts of "It's all right, Dad!"

Han Solo sighed and left the room to investigate. Moments later, he called for Luke, who hurried to the kids' playroom and stopped, trying to make sense of the scene that unfolded before him. Threepio sat slumped in a corner, deactivated. The kids' wardrobe had collapsed and its contents lay strewn about the room, along with a smooth board that Luke recognised as a spare shelf which had been stored beneath Anakin's bed.

"What happened?" he asked.

"Yeah," Han said, looking at his eldest son. "Why don't you tell Uncle Luke what happened, Jacen?"

Six-year-old Jacen Solo shifted his weight from one foot to another and sighed. "We made a slide."

"Oh," Luke said. "Did it work?"

"Once," Jaina said. She was sitting in the middle of the mess, unscathed as far as Luke could tell. "It was a really wild ride." On that, both children dissolved into giggles.

Han tried to keep a straight face as he extracted his giggling daughter from the tangles of clothes, books, and furniture. "This is the last time I trust Lando Calrissian when he says that this piece of furniture doesn't need to be bolted down."

Luke couldn't help laughing. Han shot him a betrayed look and set Jaina down.

"Now," he said. "Looks like we'll have to clean this mess up, hey?"

"But Threepio can –" Jacen began, but Han held up a finger.

"Uh-uh," he said. "Deactivated droids can't help anyone."

"But you can switch him back on," Jaina said.

"And why would I do that?" Han asked. "I didn't switch him off. Which one of you did that, anyway?"

"Me," Jaina said. Luke shook his head. The twins were nothing if not honest; when asked a question, they usually told the truth. It had taken him a while to understand how they could be so honest while constantly scheming to cause trouble while the grown-ups weren't looking. Knowing Wes Janson had helped, as had the realisation that the twins didn't really mind getting caught, as long as what they had wanted to do had already been done. They were ready to accept responsibility, but preferably for something that could be deemed a success.

"Why am I not surprised," Han said. "Well, it's bad enough that you switched him off, I don't see why he needs to clean up your mess on top of that. Come on. I'll help you with the wardrobe, you sort out the clothes, and Jacen, you collect the books, all right? And let's get this done before your Mom gets home."

The twins grumbled, but did as they were told. Luke and Han righted the wardrobe and put the shelves back inside, exchanging amused glances. It was not the first time. Not a week went by without at least one of the kids causing mischief, and both Han and Leia seemed to take it in stride. Well, they had known each other for a while; they had probably known what they were getting into. It would have taken optimism to the point of denying reality to expect their kids to be anything but rambunctious, mischievous, and up to no good.

It didn't take long to set things right, partially due to the fact that tidying up messes like this had become a well-practiced routine. Afterwards, Han set Threepio to rights and sent him to the kitchen to prepare more caf, juice for the kids, and some afternoon snacks.

The twins ran off into the living area while Han found a new home for the spare board, under his own bed this time. In the relative quiet that followed, Luke became aware of the sound of someone bouncing up and down on upholstery, accompanied by a four-year-old's voice raised in a never-ending "eeeeee!"

"Oh no," Han said. "Anakin."

Luke frowned, not understanding. "What?"

"Anakin," Han repeated. "Ah. Did you finish your caf before we left?"

Luke shook his head.

"Mine was almost full." Han sighed, his voice full of resignation. "Anakin really likes caf. He'll be bouncing off the walls for the next three hours, maybe more." He shook his head as they went to join the kids for refreshments. "I swear to you, kid, working with the Wraiths was easier than keeping tabs on these terrors."

Luke laughed and nodded as he caught sight of little Anakin Solo, still bouncing on Han's favourite chair and giggling madly as he threw cushions at his sister, who returned them with just as much force and only slightly better aim. If Han managed to get them all to sit down and have their juice and snacks, Luke thought, the man deserved another medal.


	2. Small Joys

**Small Joys**

_(Set in 13 ABY.) _

Leia Organa Solo sighed, breathing in the rich air and looking out over the lush scenery of their garden. It was more a park than a garden, really. She'd been apprehensive about letting Han surprise her with the holiday destination, but so far, she hadn't regretted it. Naboo was nothing if not beautiful. In a way, it reminded her of Alderaan, but this reminder wasn't a painful one. It was good to see that there were still parts of the galaxy that could take her breath away.

Avians fluttered around the greenery, and a light breeze ruffled the leaves of the various plants. The sun was at its zenith, bathing everything in brightness and warmth. It was late spring on this continent, and the earth teemed with life. A small spring bubbled somewhere, and Leia could make out the telltale gleams that showed the presence of a stream winding its way through the landscape.

The peace was interrupted by the delighted squeal of the children as they were released onto the balcony. The twins came tumbling out ahead of Anakin, who toddled after them on his short legs.

"Jaina!" came an exasperated shout. Leia turned to see her husband emerge from the arched doorway. He was holding a purple jumper. "C'mere you, put this on ya!"

Jaina, wearing nothing but sandals, pants and a vest, screeched and fled down the stone steps before Leia could grab her. Jacen, for a miracle, stayed put and held his little brother's hand. "Look, Anakin," he said. "There's an Aridian red-crest."

Leia smiled down at her eldest son. Jacen had been able to pronounce the names of various exotic animals before he'd got his sister's name right. It always gave people pause to see a four-year-old talk about "Aridian red-crests" instead of "red birds".

"And a Jaya!" Anakin pointed. Han had managed to catch his daughter and held her bundled under one arm as she squealed. He carried her back up the steps and deposited her next to her brothers.

"Now, sweetie," he said, trying to be stern and failing badly. "Come on, put your jumper on."

Jaina folded her arms. "Don't wanna," she said. Jaina never said many words if she could get away with saying a few. "Don't like that one."

"What?" Han looked put out. "You told me yesterday that it's your favourite one!"

"_Yesterday_," Jaina said disdainfully. "Not today."

Han sighed, exchanging a glance with his wife. "All right," he said. "But you need to put it on anyway, because otherwise your brothers are going to explore the garden without you."

"Pfft," Jaina said succinctly, and sat down, still folding her arms.

Jacen dragged at her arm. "Come on, Jaya!"

Anakin joined him. "Yeah, come on, Jaya!"

"There's a little stream out there, you know," Leia told her daughter. If they didn't convince her before she got too stubborn, she would sit there for the next two hours and then give out about not being allowed to play all day. Han always said that their daughter got it from her; she retaliated that she couldn't have got it from him because he still had it. "I was thinking that maybe you could try floating your ship on it."

Jaina looked up. "Which ship?" she asked suspiciously.

"The Extran 300 Nav-sub that Wedge gave you, remember?" Han said. With Jaina, you had to be specific, and Leia was hard-put to remember what model of freighter the Falcon was. Although, in fairness, it hardly qualified under its original designation anymore, anyway.

"Oh," Jaina said. She looked at Leia again. "Can I really?"

Leia nodded. Jaina pursed her lip and sighed. The adult gesture made Han grin, although he did his best to hide it. "Come on," he said. "Let's get this jumper on ya, okay?"

Jaina lifted her arms reluctantly. "Fine," she said.

Han gave her a lop-sided grin and pulled the jumper over her head. "Good girl," he said. He and Leia exchanged a look of pure relief. At least this one hadn't turned into a tantrum. "C'mon, let's find your ship."

* * *

"Eeeeew!" Jaina screeched. "Jasa!"Leia looked up, a half-changed Anakin squirming in her arms. "What's the matter?"

"Jasa's got a ranat in his bed!"

"It's not a ranat," Jacen said reasonably. "It's a –"

"Oh no." Leia put Anakin down and went to investigate. A small, furry animal was curled up in Jacen's bed. Its golden fur seemed clean, at least.

He looked up at her with guileless brown eyes. "It's a pittin! She's nice!"

"And where did you find it?" There was no point in even asking how he'd managed to bring it inside without anyone noticing; Jacen had a knack for that sort of thing, and with animals, it seemed to be even easier for him.

"She lives here," Jacen explained. "She used to live inside, but they threw her out!"

"Jacen, honey," Leia said gently. "We can't leave her here."

"But –" Those brown eyes filled with tears, and she knew that it was his sympathy for the small creature that caused them, as opposed to the wild sobs that came when he didn't get his way.

"She can't have your bed, love," Leia reasoned. At least Jacen could be reasoned with, when he was feeling sympathetic. "What if she decides to get up and visit Jaina in the middle of the night?"

"Ugh," Jaina said, and shuddered. "Sorry, Jasa. But not in my bed!"

Jacen nodded reluctantly. "Yeah, I guess."

"Look," Leia said. "What do you say we make her a bed in the porch, okay?"

"Oh!" he shouted. "That's a great idea, Mom!"

Han stared when he noticed his entire family crouched in the porch, because of course Jaina and Anakin had insisted on coming along too.

"Dad!" Jacen called, his young face mirroring delight. "I got a new pet!"

Han took one look at the furry creature and gave his older son a wry look. "Figures, Junior." He leaned down to ruffle the boy's hair. "What's its name?"

"Her name," Jacen said. "I'm calling her Padmé."

"Any reason?" Even Han had learned by now that Jacen loved giving his pets names that meant something, and he loved even more to explain that meaning to someone.

"I was gonna call her Paddie, or Padfoot," Jacen said. "But Mom says that Padmé is more of a Naboo name, so." He shrugged. Leia gave him a smile. It had been the name of a senator from Naboo, as far as she could remember, a friend of her father's. But the name seemed to suit the small creature.

"It's a good name, then, kid," Han said. The approval made Jacen grin.

It took a while longer to get the kids into bed, but then, it usually did during holidays. Much later, Leia stood on the open balcony with Han's arms wrapped around her, taking in the silence under the starlit sky. It was a sharp contrast to the bustle of the day, this peace, and it was rare. She nestled against Han and closed her eyes. Of course it was rare. She was married to a scoundrel.


	3. Getting The Job Done

**Getting The Job Done**

_(set in 20 ABY.)_

"This wasn't part of the deal, Skywalker," Mara Jade growled, looking at her husband over the rim of her cup. _Husband_. Force, it still had such a strange ring to it.

Luke Skywalker met her gaze, wearing that calm, guileless expression that he did so well. "You did agree, Mara," he said reasonably.

"Yeah," she said, trying not to sound too irritable. "I know."

Of course she had agreed. Han and Leia Solo had left Yavin 4 a week ago, leaving their children with Luke. And now, the end of their vacation had happened to coincide with Mara's own trip to Coruscant. She had agreed to take the kids without thinking; passenger runs had never been her favourite, but she had never minded too much, either.

Except. Except that these passengers were between nine and eleven years old. Except that they were the children of two heroes of the rebellion, one of them Luke's sister. Except that they would need looking after. Except that Mara was more than a little nervous at the prospect of all of that.

She hadn't thought of that. Or rather, she had thought it inconsequential until now, the morning of departure. She certainly hadn't thought that it would make her nervous; the last time she'd been nervous was so long ago that she couldn't even remember it.

She had no idea why Han and Leia had taken it as such a natural thing, why they had no qualms about trusting her with their kids. But then, she was family now. Mara Jade wasn't just a wife, she was also suddenly an_aunt_.

"Hey," Luke said, reaching across the table in a gesture of reassurance. "The first time Leia put the twins in my arms, I was terrified I'd drop them, or break them. But I didn't, and now they're not even babies anymore."

Mara arched an eyebrow. "A Jedi Master is afraid of dropping something?"

He caught her drift and laughed. "I can only imagine how Corran felt with Valin."

She laughed with him. Corran Horn's lack of levitation skills remained peculiar among the Jedi.

She chased away her nervousness. It was stupid. They were a bunch of kids, and she was acting as though the prospect of looking after them was worse than looking _at_ their grandfather. "Well, it's a first for me," she said lightly. "But then, so's marriage, and I haven't completely screwed that up either."

Luke grinned at her, sensing her change in mood. She still wondered at that, sometimes. "Exactly. Just a word of advice, don't let Jaina at the controls no matter how much she tells you that she can fly." He paused, thinking. "And don't let Anakin anywhere_ near_ them."

* * *

"Can I watch the takeoff?" Jaina Solo turned pleading brown eyes on her aunt. "Please?"

"And me?" Anakin's ice blue eyes joined his sister's. Jacen just looked at both of his siblings, incredulous.

"Seriously, guys," he said. "How many times d'you have to watch a takeoff before you realise that they're all the same?"

"This," Jaina said significantly, "is a different ship. Can we, Aunt Mara?"

It still took a moment for her to realise that "Aunt Mara" was her. The kids had had no major problems adopting Mara as their aunt; they all tended to deal with the facts that were put in front of them.

"Sure," she agreed, causing two big grins on youthful faces. "Just let me do the flying. No touching anything."

"Promise," Jaina said. Anakin just nodded. He never spoke much. Out of all the children, he was the one Mara had most trouble with. He didn't just chatter the way the twins did; he didn't speak unless he had something to say. Much like Mara herself, really, only that she was an adult and he a kid and for some reason, that meant that she had to get him to talk regardless.

Mara let Jaina take the copilot's seat, much to the girl's delight. She sat, hands folded in her lap, and watched intently as Mara ran through the preflights, fired up the engines, and took the ship through the atmosphere.

"Smooth," Jaina commented when they entered hyperspace.

"Better than Dad?" Anakin demanded from behind Mara.

She turned around quickly to glare at him. "No way!"

"We're gonna find someone." Anakin grinned at his sister. Mara caught Jacen's eye, and he gave her a shrug and a wry grin that told her that this was apparently an ongoing thing.

"Nope," Jaina said, her mouth a stubborn line. "Never." She looked up at Mara. "No offence, Aunt Mara, you _are_ pretty good."

"Thanks," she said wryly, avoiding the urge to tell the girl that she could out-fly Han Solo any day. Han was a hero to a lot of people, but none of them were as devoted to him as his only daughter. And besides, he probably could out-fly her. If she let him get to his ship.

"Now," she said. "Before we do anything, I want to get a few things straight, just to make sure we're on the same page."

She got expectant looks in return. Well, she had their attention, at least. She'd never learned child psychology, but somehow they were going to have to get to Coruscant in one piece, and after all the stories she'd heard, she knew that simply hoping for the best was not an option. 

"So here's how I run a ship," she said. "I don't want to spend all of my time telling you what to do. You're not little kids, and I'm not going to treat you like little kids unless you give me a reason to. As long as you behave responsibly, I'll respect that, and there won't be any need for me to order you around if you help me out every now and again. All I really expect from you is that you go to bed at a reasonable time, brush your teeth, and refrain from trying to rewire my engines or set fire to my galley."

"We wouldn't!" Jacen said indignantly.

"I'm just making sure," Mara said. "I've never flown with you, and your uncle has told me about the droid you blew up."

"It blew up by itself," Anakin said.

"Guys," Jaina said. "We all know she has a point."

Mara met all of their eyes in turn before she continued. "Right. Basically, as long as you behave responsibly, I'll treat you the way I'd treat any grown-up, responsible person. But I can't do that if you're going to try and make things difficult for me. I'm not saying you will, but keep it in mind. I'm sure you can understand that I don't want to constantly have to watch all three of you for fear that you'll do something silly. So I won't, as long as you don't."

"Okay," Jacen said. "That's fair."

"You won't confine us to the living quarter for the whole trip?" Jaina asked cautiously.

"No," Mara said. "The only places that are out of bounds are the engine room and the cockpit, and that's because they're dangerous." She looked around at all of them. "Is that clear?"

There were nods all around.

"That's wizard, Aunt Mara." Jaina's eyes were sparkling. "Thanks!"

She was taken aback. She thought she'd just imposed a set of rules and rather high expectations on them. But it was clear that Jaina was genuinely happy, which made no sense to her at all.

"All right." She arched an eyebrow. "And if we run into any problems, I hope you're aware that there will be consequences."

Jacen and Jaina nodded.

"'course there will," Anakin said, as if it was obvious. "You're that kind of lady."

She looked at him. "You're not scared of me, are you?" A day ago, she wouldn't have dreamed of asking him that. A day ago, she would have been scared of the answer. She knew that she could be intimidating when she chose, but she really didn't like to think that she frightened _children_.

"Nope," Anakin said. "Dad says there's a difference between fear and respect." He peered over at her. "He's right, you know."

She gave him a smile and didn't let her surprise show. It seemed that she had underestimated these kids massively.

* * *

The voyage went well, overall. Jacen spilled half of his food down his shirt on the second day, in the middle of an animated conversation. Jaina managed to lock herself into the escape pod bay and Mara had to rescue her using the small fusion cutter from the engine room. Anakin confused the food processing unit to the extent that it stopped working altogether; Mara still hadn't figured out how he'd managed_that_, but at least the ship was well-stocked with ration bars and other victuals.

On the last day before reversion, the twins helped Mara clear the table before asking permission to play hide-and-seek. She'd cobbled together a passable dinner from ration bars and tinned fruit, and it had even tasted good enough for Jacen to devour two helpings. Overall, she felt, she'd done a pretty good job with it.

"Hide and seek?" Mara asked. "Does that even work when you've got the Force?"

Anakin scowled at that, but Jacen shook his head. "Nah, we just play it differently, Uncle Luke taught us."

"Please can we?" Jaina asked. "We promise not to get too wild and break anything."

The fact that Jaina had anticipated that, and phrased it in a way that sounded a lot like her mother, told Mara volumes about previous such games. It also explained why Luke had declared his own quarters and the archive room out of bounds for that game.

She nodded anyway. "But no trying to squeeze into places that you shouldn't be squeezing into, okay?"

There were nods all around, then Jacen closed his eyes and began counting loudly. Mara settled on the small couch, took her datapad, and called up the book she'd been reading. Occasionally, there were shouts as the kids discovered each other, and there were changing shifts of counting in the hold, but she didn't really mind the noise. Space travel was never entirely quiet, and Mara had found over the last few days that she actually enjoyed being surrounded by life like this.

She'd also found out one big secret to looking after children: it helped to treat them as equals. It seemed to make it unnecessary for them to rebel – and really, it should come as no surprise that Leia and Han Solo's children had a penchant for rebelling – and it made things easier for her because she was better at talking to equals than to, well, children.

"You can't do that!" Anakin called out. "That's cheating!"

Mara looked up. Anakin was sitting sullenly on the deck and Jaina was on her way over to the couch. As she watched, Jaina turned around and looked at Anakin. "Well, I don't know where he is! Now hush!"

"I'm not playing anymore," Anakin announced. He got up and trotted out of the small living area – not in the direction of the cockpit, Mara was relieved to see.

"Aunt Mara," Jaina said in hushed tones. "I can't find Jacen."

She looked at her niece with raised eyebrows. "And you want me to help you?"

"Yeah!" Jaina said. "I think he might be somewhere he shouldn't be, but," she gave Mara a significant look. "I'm not gonna go after him and get in trouble too!"

"Let's have a look." Mara rose and followed Jaina out of the living area.

She reached out with the Force and found Jacen, trying hard to blur his own presence in the Force the way that Luke had taught him. She'd been meaning to locate him and then pretend to keep looking, but when she realised that he was in the engine room, she raised one eyebrow and put a hand on Jaina's shoulder. Jaina looked up at her. Mara showed her a wicked grin and led the way.

She saw him straight away, hunched down in a corner. "Jacen," she said, and he jumped. "Mind telling me what you're doing here?"

He turned around, guilt flashing in his brown eyes. "I'm –"

"Jaina," Mara said, "please go and check where Anakin disappeared to, will you?"

Jaina looked at her twin, looked at Mara, made a decision, and ran off. Mara turned her attention to Jacen.

"Now," she said. "Jacen. Where are we right now?"

"The engine room," he said, quietly, managing to meet her eyes.

"And maybe you could remind me of the two places I specifically told you not to go, at the start of the trip?"

"The cockpit," Jacen said. "And the engine room."

"So you didn't forget."

He shook his head.

She maintained a stern expression, but inside, she was close to panicking. She had never disciplined a child, and somehow, she didn't think that her usual methods were entirely appropriate here. Jacen had confessed and he obviously knew that he'd gone against her orders and expected some kind of punishment, but what was she going to do about it?

"So," she said, "why did you do it?"

"I ran out of hiding places!" Jacen said.

"And that's a reason to disobey my orders?" Mara asked.

"I didn't touch anything!"

"That wasn't the deal we had," Mara told him sharply. "Come on out of there. We're going back to the living area, and you're going to stay there for the rest of the trip, understood?"

"But –"

"But nothing," Mara cut him off. She marched him into the living area and pointed at a chair. "Sit down. You're going to stay right there until I say that you can move again."

He muttered, but obeyed. Jaina joined them only moments later. "Anakin's in the hold," she said. "He told me to go away. He's in a funny mood."

Mara nodded. Anakin had seemed in a funny mood all day. "Think it'll help if I talk to him?" she asked.

Jaina nodded. She looked at Jacen, sulking in his chair. He glared at her. "Tell-tale."

"You shouldn't have done it, then I wouldn't have told!" Jaina retorted.

"Hush," Mara said. "Jacen, you had better stay right there. I'm going to talk to Anakin. I'd better not come back to any trouble."

Jacen and Jaina only nodded, Jaina seeming almost as subdued as her brother.

Mara found Anakin in the hold, like Jaina had said. He was sitting on one of the empty boxes, cross-legged, staring into space.

"I'm all right," he said when she entered, but didn't look at her.

"Are you?" Mara said. "You don't seem to be."

He just shrugged.

She searched for words, at a loss. She wasn't any good at this, but she knew that it was up to her to talk to him and cheer him up. And somehow, she didn't want to just wait it out and deposit him with his parents tomorrow. She'd done well so far, and for some reason, she wanted to do this right, too.

"Listen," she said, "why don't you come up to the cockpit with me? Always helps me think, when I'm looking out at hyperspace."

He finally looked up. "You'd let me?"

She nodded. "Sure. I know you won't do anything stupid."

He seemed to consider that.

"Come on," she prompted. "You'll feel better."

After another brief hesitation, he unfolded his legs and got up. "All right." He walked past her out of the hold, and she followed him along the corridor to the cockpit.

She let him pick a seat, and sat down beside him when he chose the pilot's seat. They sat in silence for a few minutes, Anakin looking out at the swirling light of hyperspace, Mara doing the same but glancing at him every now and again.

The light danced over his small face and reflected in his ice-blue eyes. Of the kids, he was the one who least resembled his parents. The dark, almost black hair was almost like Leia's, and sometimes the quirk to his mouth was like Han's, but that was where it ended. His eyes were lighter than Luke's; light enough to make it seem like he was looking right into you, sometimes.

He was the most difficult to understand of all of them, she thought. And from what she'd heard, all of the grown-ups had struggled with just that._ Can't be easy for him._

"I don't really want to go back home," Anakin said suddenly. He didn't look at her, just kept staring intently out of the forward viewport.

She didn't say anything; she just waited.

"I'm not being a baby or anything," he added, a touch defensive. "I know I have to. I just don't like it."

"And why's that?" she asked.

He shrugged, glanced at her, then resumed his study of the view. "I guess," he said, "I just don't really wanna go back to school."

"Don't you like school?" Mara asked carefully.

"Yeah, it's okay," Anakin said. "I prefer the Temple."

"I guess school's not as much fun, hmm?" Mara had no idea where this conversation was going. She couldn't read him at all, and she didn't know enough about him to be able to even guess what was really going on in his mind.

He was silent for a while. "School's fine," he said. "Everyone says I'm good at it."

Another pause. Then, "But I'm always kinda alone."

And suddenly, Mara did know. Han and Leia had put their children into a regular school, albeit an upper-level one. And while Jacen and Jaina always had each other, Anakin had no one. And he was exactly the loner type.

"And I suppose," Mara said slowly, "that's a bad thing?"

He turned to look at her. "That's what everyone else seems to think." He paused, reflective. "I don't really mind, or I wouldn't if they didn't always treat me like I'm weird. Mom and Dad say that I'm different, or special, or something. But I don't really wanna be different. Not when it means that they look at me like that."

And here, finally, was something that Mara could understand. "It's not always nice, is it?" she asked. "To be singled out like that?"

Anakin shook his head. She was still wondering at this sudden change in him; she'd never known him to talk this much. "No. My teacher always tells me to play with the others. She makes us do projects together, for fun, but it's not so much fun." He shrugged. "It'd turn out better if I just did it myself."

Mara nodded.

"Mom always says teamwork is good," he said. "It helps people be friends, she says. But it never does that at school."

Mara smiled. "Well, your Mom doesn't always do teamwork, either, does she? Who's always the one who ends up doing most of the work because no one else can do it?"

He actually smiled back. "Her."

On impulse, Mara reached out and touched the boy's shoulder. "Listen, Anakin," she said. "You are different. I know that. It's not even the Force, it's just who you are. But the galaxy needs people like you, as well. It's all well and good to have people doing teamwork, but someone has to be there to tell them what to do teamwork on, right? Someone has to get the job done."

He looked at her. "I guess."

She gave him another smile. "It isn't easy, I know that better than most people. But it's all right to be alone, if you want to be. It's all right to be different. People are going to say all sorts of weird things about it, but that's only because they don't really understand anything."

"You really think so?" Anakin looked at her, those bright eyes intent. "I mean, Mom and Dad say so, too, but they're my parents, so of course they do."

That made her chuckle. "Doesn't make it less true," she said. "Take it from me, being a loner isn't easy and people will give you funny looks, but it makes you stronger in the end."

"Like you," he said.

She nodded. "Like me." And that was the thing, she realised. Han and Leia might tell Anakin all the right things, but at the end of the day, neither of them had ever been in the same position as Anakin had. He'd never had anyone he could point to and say, "Well, I'm not the only one."

"They don't really understand, do they?" Anakin asked. "That I can be happy on my own?"

She grinned at him. "A lot of people never manage that. So they don't think anyone else can. But take it from me, your independence is the most important thing you'll ever gain."

"You think it's okay?" he asked. "They keep saying I need friends, but I've got Jace and Jaya, and I don't even want them around all the time."

"I think it's okay," Mara said. "I think that when the time comes when you want friends, you'll find the right ones. And it's better to wait for the right ones than settle for something you don't want." This probably wasn't what you were supposed to say, she thought, but how could she tell the kid things that she didn't believe herself?

It seemed to be the right thing to say as far as Anakin was concerned. He gave her a smile. "That's what I keep thinking."

He came over, then, and gave her a hug. "I feel better now," he said, his voice muffled by her flightsuit.

She put an arm around him. "Good," she said. "Listen, Anakin, I haven't known you for very long, but I know that you're very strong. You need to do what's right for you, and the good thing is that you're strong enough to do that."

He looked up at her and showed her a smile which mirrored his father's determined grin. "You bet I am!"

"Come on." She stood up and took his hand, sighing. "Let's go check if your brother and sister have got up to any tricks while we were talking."

"Don't think so," Anakin commented. He trailed her to the living area, where Jaina was kneeling on the ground beside Jacen's chair – still, for a miracle, containing Jacen. He seemed to be busy trying to make his sister laugh, and Jaina's face was red with the effort to prevent the laughter from escaping. When she started giggling, Jacen grinned with triumph and shouted, "Hah! Your turn!"

When they noticed her, they both sobered. "Hey, Aunt Mara," Jacen said. "Uh, I'm really really sorry for going into the engine hold."

She looked at him with raised eyebrows. "So we're agreed that it was wrong?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Sorry."

She nodded back at him. "All right. You can get up. And I'll give you a chance to show me that you can behave yourself really well today, and if you prove that to me, I'll rescind this ban tomorrow. Fair enough?"

He nodded eagerly. "Fair enough. Yep!"

Relieved and trying not to show it, she sat down on the couch beside Anakin, while the twins eventually resumed their game, exploding into giggles every few minutes. Eventually, Anakin joined them. Mara watched them over the rim of her book and allowed herself a small smile. It was definitely not easy, dealing with them. But overall, she figured, it was worth it.

* * *

"How'd it go?" Han Solo asked Mara the next day, as the kids swarmed around him. Jaina stood beside him, having draped his arm around her shoulders. The docking bay rang with the kids' excited voices.

She smiled. "Overall, I'd say it went pretty well."

"It was _stellar_!" Jacen said, giving up on trying to zip up Anakin's coat for him and coming to stand beside his father. "Dad, Aunt Mara's a really fair captain."

Mara shot Jacen a grin and knelt to help Anakin with the – ridiculously stubborn – zipper on his coat. Han laughed and ruffled Jacen's hair. "Captain, eh? And d'you follow her orders, kid?"

Jacen looked at him. "Uh, most of the time," he said truthfully.

"But we sorted that out," Mara said quickly. "Didn't we, Jace?"

Jacen nodded, grinning at her. Han showed her a grin that was almost identical.

"Sounds like you did a great job," he said.

That was when it hit her. She _had _done a good job. She'd brought the Solo kids all the way home without any minor catastrophes, and they even seemed to like her. Granted, she still had no idea how she'd managed it, or why exactly they all thought that she'd got it right, but the end result stood, didn't it?

"There," she said to Anakin. She winked at him. "Good luck in school."

He grinned. "I don't need luck," he said recklessly. "I've got the Force."

Han only gave his youngest son a wry look, then turned to Mara, and she just had to laugh. Anakin was Han's son, right enough, and somehow he'd just managed to act exactly like his father while saying exactly the opposite to what Han would have said. Amusement still glinting in her eyes, she put a hand on Anakin's shoulder and joined Han in steering the kids out of the docking bay and towards home.


	4. Rough Diamonds

**Rough Diamonds  
**

_(set in 17 ABY.)_

"I – don't – wanna – go!"

Jaina Solo was an exceptionally cute eight-year-old, small and slim and pretty, but along with her mother's looks, she had also inherited a remarkable stubbornness. Han loved that about both of them, he really did, but there were definitely times when he wished that that particular trait were not quite that pronounced.

He sighed as his wife tried, once again, to cajole their daughter.

"But Jaina," Leia said. "It'll be fun. Remember how much you liked seeing the old machinery the last time?"

Jaina obstinately shook her head, chin tilted up, her rosy mouth making a stubborn line, her dark hair flying around her face. "Not this time."

"But everyone's going!" Jacen looked at his sister, trying to make her see reason.

Jaina just shook her head again. "Dad isn't."

"But sweetie – "

"Not going if Dad's not!" Jaina shouted, crossing her arms. It was an adult gesture, and one that Han swore she had picked up from her mother. There was no way that anything she got from him could look that adorable.

He was touched, despite himself. He had had to pull out of the planned outing today due to the fact that the _Falcon_ was, again, throwing a fit and it needed to be back in shape before their flight back home – tomorrow. The trip was one they'd made before, about a year ago, to a derelict space cruiser from the Clone Wars era, in a stable orbit around Breduna. The cruiser had been transformed into a museum and offered breathtaking views of the nearby G'Densk nebula.

The two boys were rearing to go, Jacen because of the nebula, Anakin because of the exhibits of Clone Wars technology. Jaina had been eager, too, until Han had broken the news that he was not coming.

Han hunkered down in front of his daughter. "Sweetie, you'll enjoy it. I can't come, so you go and have enough fun for the two of us, okay?"

Jaina looked at him, tears still glistening in her eyes. "But Jacen and Anakin can do that," she reasoned, her tone pleading. "I wanna stay here with you!"

"But Daddy needs to fix the _Falcon_, honey," Leia broke in.

Jaina turned a teary face up at her mother. "I can help him fix it," she said. "I brought my multitool."

They were not going to convince her. Jaina was single-minded when she wanted something, and this was clearly not just a passing fancy, born from an impulse to throw a tantrum about something. She genuinely wanted to stay with him and the ship. Of course, she'd get in the way. At the very least, it would take him and Chewie a lot longer. At worst, she'd manage to press the wrong buttons or cross the wrong wires and it would take them even longer.

But maybe Jaina needed some time with her father. He hadn't been around that much lately, busy with one trader's meeting after the other, especially on Breduna.

Han quirked an eyebrow at Leia. She raised her eyebrows, surprised, and Han felt that odd surge of warmth that always wafted through him when she understood him without a word. He just shrugged and kept the same look on his face. She smiled. Then she nodded as if to say, "well, up to you."

"All right then, sweetie," Han said. "I'll make you a deal, okay?"

Jaina looked at him with the mixture of expectation and suspicion that she always wore when he – or one of the Rogues – offered her a deal.

"You can stay here with me," he said, "but it'll mean spending the whole day in the _Falcon_ with me and Chewie. And we won't have time to play with you."

"That's all right," Jaina said quickly. "I'll help you guys."

Han grinned at her. "Right," he told her, offering his hand. "But no complaining when Jace and Anakin come back and tell you what a great time they had, 'kay?"

"'kay." Jaina placed her palm in his and he grasped it.

"It's a deal, then." He shook her hand and released it.

"You're gonna be so bored, Jaya," Jacen said. "But no complaining! Can we go now, Mom?"

Jaina stuck out her tongue at her brother, clearly in a much better mood. Leia hid a smile. "All right then," she said. "Are we ready? Anakin, where's your coat?"

"Don't need one," the boy said proudly.

"Yes you do, Junior," Han said, picking him up. "C'mon, let's go find it and latch a tractor beam onto it, yeah?"

Anakin giggled. It took a few more minutes, but then Leia shooed Jacen and Anakin out the door and Han and Jaina were left alone. He sent his daughter to change into the set of clothes that Leia had designated "_Falcon_ wear", and Jaina returned in record time.

"Right then," Han said. "Got your multitool?"

She drew it out of her pocket and displayed it proudly.

He gave her a crooked grin, then grabbed her and set her up on his shoulders. Leia always insisted that the kids were too old for that now, but Han heard Jaina giggle in delight and knew that he'd keep doing it until his back gave out or they stopped enjoying it, whichever came first.

"C'mon then, Princess," he said, "let's get some repair fuel and go meet Chewie, yeah?"

"Mom says repair fuel is just jargon for whiskey!" Jaina crowed. "She says it makes you drunked."

Han tried not to laugh. He was pretty sure that his daughter had no idea what "jargon" even meant.

"Well, I'm not gonna get 'drunked'," he told her. "This is different repair fuel."

There was a moment's pause from Jaina while Han retrieved a flask of rubani juice and some food packets, making a point of showing them to her to prove that he really was innocent of any plots to use Leia's absence to get "drunked". He thought he'd convinced her, but after a few moments she asked ponderously, "Dad, what's 'innocent facade' mean?"

* * *

"Anger is of the Dark Side!" Jaina yelled as her father cursed a blue streak of Corellian curses. Thankfully, the girl didn't understand Corellian. Still, she evidently understood the gist of what Han was saying.

"Yeah, I'm not a Jedi!" Han shouted back, still upside down in the Falcon's main hold with his head in the wires. He squinted down into the semi-darkness and sighed. That was the third fuse gone. Something had gone really wrong with the alluvial dampers; there was far too much power going through this particular cable. He'd thought that fixing the portside degausser would be simple, but the _Falcon_ had once again thrown him for a loop.

Of course, he might have expected it. Nothing in Han Solo's life was ever straightforward. He was still amazed by the ease with which he and Leia had managed to have three children. It should, by rights, have been a lot more complicated.

It had probably been one of those tricks that the universe liked playing on him. Lull him into a false sense of security, make him think that this, at least, had been easy, and then spring three Force-sensitive children on him. Two hyperactive twins, and a younger son who continually defied logic.

Han grinned to himself. Complicated and difficult they might be, but he loved his kids more than anything. In a way, it made him understand how Leia managed to love _him_.

"Dad!" Jaina yelled. "Computer says the subsystem's going to crash!"

Han slapped a mental restraining bolt on his mouth before the next string of curses could escape. "Reset it!" he called, before realising that he was talking to his eight-year-old daughter and not Chewbacca. Chewie was still outside on the _Falcon_'s hull, mending the problem from the outside while Han sorted out the wiring.

Before he could cancel his order to Jaina and crawl up to do it himself, the bouncing patter of small feet came closer again, and Jaina's excited voice reached him.

"Done!" she said, and the pride was obvious. "Running fine again. As long as you don't trip another fuse."

Han righted himself and gave his girl a proud grin. "Well done." She would object to being called a "clever girl", he knew. Jaina Solo didn't like being treated like a kid.

He gestured at the device she was holding out to him. It was small, square, and had two severed wires dangling from it. "What's that?"

"Fuse," Jaina said, all business. "To replace the one you blew."

"I didn't blow it!" he exclaimed. "It was – " But he clamped down on the argument that had become second nature to him. This wasn't Chewie, it wasn't even Leia, it was his little girl and he didn't need to defend himself. "Never mind," he said. "Where'd you get it?"

She rolled her eyes. "Spare parts locker, where else?"

"Of course, where else?" he echoed. "Sorry, had to ask. It's become a habit ever since Lando used a cable from the navicomputer to replace the one on the microwave."

Jaina giggled. "Not good!"

"No," Han said. "Not good at all, considering that we had to get out of that system in a hurry and the navicomp wouldn't work. Chewie had to dismantle the microwave in record time."

Jaina laughed. "Bet he didn't like that."

Han shook his head. "No. Lando didn't, either, after Chewie was through with him." He chuckled at the memory, then turned on the light and prepared to dive back into the hold.

As he worked, soldering the new fuse in place, Jaina began to sing to herself. Han tried to be as quiet as possible in order to hear her. Jaina always got embarrassed if it got obvious that someone was listening to her; he'd learned that it was best not to even mention it afterwards if he wanted her to do it again, and he always enjoyed hearing her sing. He was getting soft and he knew it, but funnily enough, that thought didn't seem to merit contempt anymore.


	5. Scavenger

**Scavenger**

_(set in 18 ABY.)_

Jaina Solo rocked in her seat and shouted out the words to the song.

_"He said "Your kind aren't welcome here,  
I don't want you in my town!"  
So I called me older brother up  
And we shot the whole place down, hey!"_

"Hey!" Jacen yelled beside her, and started laughing. Jaina looked at her brother and joined in. She liked singing with Jacen.

Dad had taught them the song. He said it was a Corellian tavern song, and that you only really sang it when you were blind drunk. Jaina wasn't allowed to be blind drunk, but she and Jacen always tried to behave a little bit drunk when they sang these kinds of songs. Playing drunk was fun. It involved a lot of shouting and giggling and jumping around. They had watched Dad and Uncle Lando and the others a few times to find out how it was done.

Chewbacca growled a warning. Jaina couldn't speak Shyriiwook, but she understood him quite well.

"Don't worry, Chewie," she said. "I'm not gonna fall out, I've got a crash restraint!"

She understood "Sit still" in a lot of languages, sometimes even when people weren't speaking. Grown-ups liked quiet kids, and that was another reason why she didn't understand them. She and Jacen sometimes made it a game to see for how long they could be really, really loud and restless before someone ordered them to stop.

"Yeah," Jacen said. "We're not _falling_ out, we're just _rocking _out." Lando always called it "rocking out" if his ship wobbled when he was piloting it and Dad was mocking him for it. Jaina liked Lando. He was always cheerful and lively.

Chewie made a chuffing sound as he laughed softly. Minutes later, he brought the speeder to a stop and Jaina was first out of the speeder. She gave Jacen a triumphant grin.

Chewie locked the speeder and told them to stay beside him. Jaina grabbed his hand as they started walking down the small street. Chewie's hands were always warm and soft and gentle. He had leathery pads on the inside of them, which were cold at first, and he had claws as well, for climbing. He could retract them, though, so that he wouldn't hurt anyone with them.

Jaina sometimes wished she had claws for climbing. Then she thought what would happen if one day she forgot to retract them when she was shaking hands with someone, or hugging Jacen, and it didn't seem like such a good idea anymore. She was always forgetting things. Although Jacen was worse for forgetting things, like his homework, and his shoes, and even the fact that it was cold outside and he shouldn't crouch on the ground for an hour trying to coax an animal into accepting some flatbread.

They reached the small shop after a few minutes. Chewie ushered them through the door, and Jaina blinked in the harsh neon light. The shop smelled like all the other mechanics shops she'd ever been in: different solder alloys, lubricants, dusty electronics, and that mechanics-shop smell that told you that they were trying to stop it smelling of lubricant.

"We need a targeting sensor module," Jaina told the Lensarai behind the counter. He nodded, and then he turned to Chewie, obviously figuring out that Chewie was the one who had the money.

"We have one in prime condition," he said. "An eSense-T45d."

Chewie started gesturing and telling the guy that he wanted to have a look, but Jaina knew that a T-45 would never work right. Besides, Dad always said that you should never trust eSense equipment if it was more complicated than a cyberfuse.

As the shop's protocol droid began translating Chewie's words, Jaina tugged at the Wookiee's hand. "Chewie," she whispered. "Can I have a look around?"

He growled his assent, but told her not to leave the shop. Jaina nodded. As if she'd want to leave this shop!

She strolled along the rows of shelves on her own. Jacen wasn't interested, he'd stayed with Chewie. Apparently the exchange between Chewie and the shop owner was more interesting, although Jaina really couldn't see how. She sighed. Maybe she should've worked harder at convincing Anakin to come. Jacen was the wrong brother to take to a place like this, but he was always up for an outing of any kind. Anakin could be horribly stubborn sometimes, and about the silliest things, too.

The shop was full of old machinery and broken droids and speeder parts and boxes of components. It wasn't a very big shop, and it wasn't very well organised, either. She liked the big mechanics stores, but Dad and Chewie didn't go to those very often. Dad said they made him nervous. Jaina didn't really understand how a shop could make anyone nervous, but a lot of things made Dad nervous. Mostly things like the diplomatic functions that Mom always dragged him to, and Tatooine, and a lot of Mom's colleagues. Jaina figured that he just used it as an excuse to get out of doing stuff that he didn't like doing.

She reached the end of the row of shelves and noticed that there was a door to her right. It was open, and she could smell soldering alloy. Peeking was wrong, she knew that, but something crashed and her curiosity won out. She looked around the corner.

The door led into a workshop. The only person inside it was a boy with black hair who was holding a soldering iron. Jaina frowned. He didn't look much older than her. Was he working here? Kids weren't supposed to work, were they? She and Jacen never did, except around the house. Maybe the boy lived here, but that didn't really make sense either. People didn't live in shops.

She pursed her lips. She wasn't sure if she should talk to him. But then again, she wasn't leaving the shop, was she, and she wanted to know what the boy was doing here. Maybe he'd let her help him. Or maybe, he was a slave or something, and he actually needed her help to escape!

Thrilled with that thought, Jaina took a step forward. "Are you a slave?" she asked.

The boy looked up at her, frowning. His eyes were a brilliant green, almost like Mara Jade's. "Who are you?" he asked.

Okay, so maybe that hadn't been the most tactful thing to ask, even if he was a slave. Mom always said she'd never make a diplomat, she was too direct. But then, she didn't want to be a diplomat. She wanted to be a pilot, or a mechanic, or a Jedi. Or maybe a miner – Lando's mining operation sounded really cool.

But anyway, tact or not, she _had_ asked him first, and now she crossed her arms and told him so.

He turned the soldering iron off, set it down, and sat back from the old-fashioned microwave emitter in front of him. "I'm not a slave," he said. "Slavery's illegal, you know that?"

Jaina nodded, a bit miffed. He sounded patronising. "Yeah, I _know_. But just because something's illegal doesn't mean people won't do it. And I'm Jaina."

The boy stood up and dusted himself off. He wore a grey coverall, and she could see a red shirt peeking out at the top. "I'm Zekk." He showed a smile, and she thought that maybe he'd only sounded patronising because he'd been annoyed that she'd thought he was a slave.

"So you work here?" Jaina asked, still interested to find out why he was here.

"Yep." He grinned at her. "Well, sometimes. I help Naid fix stuff."

"Cool," Jaina said. Now that he was standing, she saw that he was a good bit taller than her. "I'm nine, by the way. And a half. And you?"

"Eleven," Zekk answered. "And a bit."

"How come you're working here when you're only eleven?" she asked him.

Zekk shrugged. "It's fun, and I get money for it. I don't really _have_ to work."

"Oh." Jaina considered that. She hadn't thought that people worked for fun. But then, Dad and Wedge were pilots, and Uncle Luke was a Jedi, and being a pilot or a Jedi would definitely be lots of fun.

She put a hand on her hip. "So whatcha doing?"

"Fixing this up," Zekk said, gesturing at the microwave emitter. Jaina had figured as much, but she had needed to bring it up somehow. It wouldn't do to just tell him straight out how much she'd like to join him.

"Can I see?" she asked casually.

He showed her, and two minutes later she was hunkered down on the dirty floor beside him, holding two wires together for him. He told her that he lived nearby in an apartment, and that he usually spent his time searching for abandoned bits of machinery and other treasures around Coruscant. Jaina thought it sounded like a lot of fun.

"Don't your parents mind you being out alone all day?" she asked.

He just shrugged. "They're dead."

Jaina stared at him. "You mean you're all _alone_?"

"Nah," he said. "I live with Peckhum. He's a spacer. He's got a spaceship and everything. It's called the _Lightning Rod_."

Jaina felt a bit sorry for him now. She sure wouldn't trade her parents and brothers for the ability to roam around wherever she wanted. Normally, she would have immediately told him that her Dad had a spaceship, too, but suddenly she didn't feel like she should.

"That's cool," she said, determined now to be nice to him. "Does he let you go in it?"

Zekk nodded. "Sometimes, yeah. He's teaching me to fly it. I want to be a pilot when I'm older."

Jaina grinned at him. "Me too!"

"Really?" he asked. "You any good yet?"

She thought back to when she, Jacen, and Anakin had flown the _Millennium Falco_n, only a few months ago. That had been a disaster, even though she had managed to shoot Thrackan pretty well and they hadn't actually crashed a bit. "Well, I have a lot to learn," she said truthfully.

"Hey!" Jaina turned to see Jacen standing in the doorway. "I was looking for you! Whatcha doing?"

"I'm helping Zekk," she told her brother. "He works here."

"Who's that?" Zekk asked her.

"Jacen," Jaina told him. "He's my brother."

"Hi." Jacen grinned at Zekk the way he grinned at everyone he met. He strode into the room and looked down at them.

"Hi," Zekk said, grinning back. "You wanna help, too?"

"Sure." Jacen sat cross-legged on the ground opposite Jaina. He didn't really help, if Jaina was honest, but he made them laugh when he mimicked the exchange between Chewie and the shopkeeper. He also mimicked See-Threepio, and that was even funnier. Then he taught Zekk the song about shooting the whole place down, and Jaina joined in and showed Zekk how to play drunk.

It was the most fun Jaina had ever had in a mechanics shop, and when Chewie arrived to tell them that he was done, she really didn't want to leave. Zekk seemed a bit disappointed, as well. She introduced Zekk to Chewie, and Chewie shook Zekk's hand and told him that he was very nice to let the twins disturb his work. Jacen protested while Jaina translated, and Zekk grinned. "My pleasure," he said.

"Can we come see you again sometime?" Jacen asked hopefully.

Zekk shrugged. "Sure, but I don't always work here. But maybe I'll see you around."

"Good luck with the emitter!" Jaina shouted over her shoulder at him as Chewie led her out of the shop, and he yelled back, "Thanks!"

"Just wait'll I tell Dad," Jaina said to Chewie, grinning delightedly. "I got to help a real mechanic! Wasn't he nice? I hope we can see him again. I'm gonna ask Dad if we can."

Chewie growled something to the effect that Han was sure to be thrilled to hear that his daughter wanted to visit a scruffy-looking mechanic in downtown Coruscant, and ruffled her hair.

"Chewie!" she shouted, feeling a bit patronised and not liking it one bit. "That was _sarcasm_, I can tell!"


	6. Do Something

**Do Something**

_(Set in 16 ABY.)_

The lake was beautiful, calm water reflecting the blue-violet sky—a feature of Obraska's atmosphere that Jaina had delighted over—and mirroring the trees that stood on the bank, their feathery leaves touching the lake's surface. Han Solo sat on the wooden veranda in his swim trunks, eyes fluttering closed, enjoying the sun on his back. The air was filled with the cries of birds, splashes of water—

—and the shrieks of two hyperactive kids as they were released into the garden. Han opened one eye as Jaina and Anakin raced past him. A brief touch of Anakin's hand on his shoulder as the boy kept his balance while running past, and they were down the steps and into the water. A grin spread over Han's face as he watched them jump off the small wooden pier and shout something about Imperial patrols and hiding the contraband. They were his kids, all right.

But there were only two. He frowned as he realised that Jacen wasn't following his siblings outside. He turned towards the house they were renting, but couldn't see his older son anywhere. He sighed. Jacen still hadn't got over his phase of wanting to do everything with the Force. Leia, ever-protective, insisted that it was just a phase, but Han was no longer sure. It couldn't be normal for a seven-year-old—nearly eight, as he would insist—boy to prefer meditating to running around the garden.

And Jacen's obsession with levitating and telekinesis was starting to test both Han and Leia's patience at this stage. His efforts were starting to bear fruit, but unfortunately, he lacked the kind of control that enabled someone like Luke to turn off the light without completely destroying its innards. Sure, Han or Chewie could fix the damage—so far, at least—but even then it was Jaina and especially Anakin who were eager to help, not their brother.

Han stood up and made for the house. They were here so that the kids could play outside, not for Jacen to be able to mope around inside. It wasn't doing him any good.

He found Jacen sitting at the lunch table, arguing with his mother. Leia Organa Solo looked beautiful, wearing a navy one-piece swimsuit and an airy, light blue wrap skirt, her hair caught up in a coiled braid. Jacen looked sullen.

"—will be fun," Leia was saying. "Why don't you just give it a try?"

"Nah," Jacen said. "I don't wanna."

"Don't want what?" Han asked.

Leia looked up, and Han knew immediately that she wasn't going to defend Jacen's inactivity this time. Her patience was coming to an end, too.

"Don't wanna go swimming," Jacen said. "I want to practice levitation. I almost got it last time."

Leia got up and moved past him, a request in her eyes. Han nodded, and she smiled and squeezed his hand before leaving to join Jaina and Anakin by the water. Leaving Han to put his foot down, because that was something he did better, at least in this case.

"You don't have to practice all the time, kid," Han said. "Come on outside, have some fun."

"Levitation is fun," Jacen said. "I wanna be able to do what Uncle Luke does."

"Your uncle Luke doesn't do it for fun," Han said. They'd been through this, but if he had to say it again, he would. He sat down across the table corner from Jacen. "He does it because it's part of his job."

"I don't have a job yet," Jacen said. "So I can do it for fun."

The kid had definitely inherited Leia's gift for arguing. But then, Han had practice arguing with Leia, too. "That's not how it works," Han said. "And it's not the point. Luke doesn't use the Force to avoid doing things for himself."

"But he can make the ship models fly around the room," Jacen said. "I want to be able to do that. And he can—"

Han shook his head. "He couldn't do that when he was seven."

"That's 'cause he didn't have anyone to teach him," Jacen said. And he had a point, but Han wasn't about to be put off.

"No one ever taught Luke how to make toy spaceships fly around a room," Han said, and that was true. "Look, kid, I'm not a Jedi, but the Force isn't a tool, or a toy. You can't just rely on it to do everything."

"Why not?" Jacen's bottom lip was starting to push out in a stubborn pout.

"Because," Han said. "I'll give you an example. Luke uses the Force in order to jump up really high, right?"

Jacen nodded.

"Well, how far d'you reckon he'd get if he didn't know how to jump?" Han asked.

Jacen considered it. "He could just lift himself up with the Force."

"That takes a lot of energy," Han said, who had quizzed Luke on the subject a few weeks previous. "It's much easier to just jump and use the Force to help you. But if you don't know how to jump, it's pointless."

He got up. "Come on with me for a second."

Jacen hesitated, but then he hopped off his chair and followed Han outside into the utility shed at the back of the house. Jaina and Anakin's shouts echoed over from the lake, and for a second, Han wanted nothing more than to join them in the water, toss them about, and leave Jacen to sulk on his own.

But what kind of father did that?

He rooted around the shed until he found a plain old-fashioned sledge hammer somewhere near the back. "Here," he said, showing it to Jacen. "This is a tool. Right? You use it to knock down walls, loosen up earth for digging, that kind of thing." He set it down on the ground, tipping the handle toward Jacen. "Lift it."

Jacen took the handle and tried, but a seven-year-old couldn't lift a tool that Leia would have struggled with. "Can't." He sounded defiant.

"Right," Han said. "Because it's not enough to have a tool and know what to do with it, is it? You have to be _able _to use it."

"You said the Force isn't just a tool," Jacen said.

Han almost smiled. "_I_ know it isn't," he said. "But you need to make up your mind. Either it is, in which case you need to work on your physical ability to use it. Or it isn't, in which case you need to rely on yourself to do stuff rather than using it for everything."

He put the sledge hammer back and locked the shed—with code combination and key both, because Anakin didn't have Jacen's penchant for relying on the Force for everything and loved nothing more than locked doors.

Jacen had crossed his arms. "You're just trying to make me do stuff," he said. "But I don't wanna. I can't. It's no fun when you can't do it."

Han bit back on _Then why do you keep trying to levitate your toys?_ because that he was still the father and Jacen was still a boy. But he'd had enough. The lesson had got through to Jacen, as signified by the stubborn set of his mouth and the crossed arms; he just didn't like it.

Time to try something else.

"All right," Han said. "Fine. You know what? You go back inside." He caught Jacen's hand and started walking him back across the lawn, through the sunlight, back into the house. "I'm going to go for a swim with Jaina and Anakin. And then we're taking a boat over to the little island to see the runyips that live there. But you go on inside, you're staying with Threepio. You can practice your telekinesis all day long if you like. How's that?"

Jacen looked up at him. "But I want to go to the island."

"You said you wanted to stay inside a few minutes ago," Han said. "And I'm not taking you anywhere if all you're going to is complain and whine like you did last time."

They reached the house and Han let go of Jacen's hand. "Threepio!" he called.

The droid appeared from wherever he'd been sitting in stand-by in a matter of moments. "Yes, sir?"

"Jacen's going to stay inside today," Han said. "You look after him, make sure he doesn't cause any trouble, and get him something to eat if he's hungry."

"Certainly, Captain Solo," Threepio replied, doing that thing where he managed to look proud of being assigned a task that he was capable of. "I shall do my very best. Come along, Master Jacen."

"But Dad!" Jacen whined, and Han saw a tantrum coming on. Good. He'd known Jacen for long enough by now to know that sometimes you had to push him to a tantrum in order to get anywhere. This was definitely one of those situations.

"No," he said, and levelled a finger at his son. "You're going to stay inside for a bit. And you're gonna think long and hard about what you wanna do. And when you've decided, you can let me know, and we'll see. But not until you're sure."

He closed the door behind the boy and walked around the side of the house to the waterfront. Leia was sitting on the pier, legs dangling in the water. Jaina and Anakin were doing their best to swim, kicking and paddling and yelling.

"Dad!" Jaina called when she saw him. "You coming in?"

Han grinned. "Sure, sweetie, give me a second!"

He made his way over the pier and hunkered down beside Leia.

"Well?" she asked.

"Tantrum," Han said. "He doesn't want to go outside, but he doesn't want to stay in if I tell him to, either. Give him a few minutes to make up his mind."

Leia sighed. "Right. You go on. I'll wait here for him to show up."

Because Jacen would probably be mad at Han, and Leia would have a better chance of getting through to him, comforting him, and maybe, just maybe, convince him to come with the rest of them. Han kissed his wife on the cheek before dropping off the pier into the water. Parenting Jedi kids really was a team effort.

"Where's Jacen?" Anakin said as he paddled over to Han. The boy was gulping for air in between the waves that lapped at his face and caught at Han's arm to help him get his feet back under him. He was a cute kid, with dark hair and those piercing ice blue eyes that you noticed from across a room. Over the past year, he'd come to adore swimming and loved being in the water.

"Inside," Han said. "He didn't want to come out."

"Jacen's a whole boredom by himself," Jaina said, making a face. She stood nearby, and launched herself in Han's direction. A second later, Han was hit by a wave of water and spray and girl, and Jaina got her feet back under her and jumped up and down in front of him. At the moment, she was the more active twin, usually pausing for just long enough to eat and sleep, and it showed. Neither of the twins were especially tall for their age, but where Jacen was starting to get pudgy, Jaina was slim and lean in the way that most kids that age were. Anakin was brawny and at six years of age still retained some baby fat, but Jaina had grown beyond that by now.

Han laughed. "A whole boredom, eh?"

Jaina gave him a radiant grin that she'd definitely got from Leia, and nodded. "Yep."

"Where'd you get that phrase from?"

"Kyp said long lectures combined with Borsk Fey'lya was enough boredom to make his head implode," she said. "And I said that Borsk Fey'lya is a whole boredom by himself."

"And Kyp thought it was funny," Anakin added.

"And it gets Jacen real mad." Jaina giggled.

Han grinned. "Right." Then he adopted a more serious expression. "But do me a favour and don't call him that if he comes outside later. We don't want to push him today, okay?"

Jaina rolled her eyes, but nodded. "Okay."

"Okay," Anakin said. "Dad, come on. We need your help to get the contraband away. There's an Imperial patrol lurking behind the island and another one on the way from the base." He pointed towards the house.

"Oh, not good," Han said, furrowing his brow in earnest concentration. He probably shouldn't be playing smugglers with his kids, but who was he to spoil their game and insist they play something politically correct. "All right, Jaina, you distract them while me and Anakin get the cargo out. Here's what we'll do…"

***

They had just managed to get the contraband—Han never found out what it was they were smuggling, and he didn't want to get the kids thinking about it, so he didn't ask—out from under the crime lord's nose and were about to start evading the patrols when Jacen's shouting broke through Jaina and Anakin's voices. The crime lord transformed back into Leia, who rose with the kind of grace that Han had never seen in any crime lord and set off towards the house.

Han turned his attention back to his other two kids and hefted the inflatable ball that Jaina and Anakin were smuggling. "Come on, guys," he said. "Let's get this stowed away in the ship. What d'you say we take it over to the island in a bit and try to barter it there?"

"We're going to the island today?" Jaina asked, brown eyes lighting up.

"Sure we are," Anakin said. "Dad said so yesterday!"

"Yeah, but what if Jacen doesn't wanna go?" Jaina asked, the light in her eyes replaced by trepidation as she looked up at Han. He hated it when that happened. It was one of those sights that he could go for the rest of his life without, and not miss it.

"Then," Han said, catching hold of her and lifting her up onto the pier, "we'll leave him with Threepio and Cakhmaim, and go without him."

Jaina sighed as she got to her feet on the pier. "Jacen's no fun anymore."

Anakin refused Han's help and clambered after her. He was going through a phase, too—one where he insisted on doing things on his own. Leia reckoned that ihe was trying to get out of the baby role, and Han was inclined to agree. But whatever the reason, Anakin had his full support, and so he stood back and pretended not to notice when his youngest slipped once, twice, before managing to hoist himself up onto the pier.

Han handed him the ball. "You and Jaina get that stowed away," he said. "I'll keep a look out."

Jaina, for a miracle, let Anakin keep hold of the "cargo" as they hurried along the pier with that walk they used when they weren't allowed to run but not willing to really slow down, either. Han jumped up onto the pier and followed them.

By the time the ball was secure in the little boat that was tethered to the end of the pier, and the Imperial patrol had been duly taunted and then distracted with the Force, Leia and Jacen were emerging from the house. They stopped at the edge of the veranda, and Leia bent down to say something to Jacen. The boy looked unsure, clutching his mother's hand, and finally nodded.

Han caught Leia's eye as they approached, and she gave him a beseeching look and an almost imperceptible nod.

He knew what had to come next. So he waved, and grinned, and called "Hey! These two little smugglers want to go hide their stash on the island, what d'you think?"

"Smugglers?" Jacen asked.

"We're playing smugglers with Dad!" Anakin said, bouncing towards his brother. "We're gonna go evade the Imperial slugs in the boat."

"Anakin," Leia cautioned. She was more politically correct than Han would ever be.

"The Imperial _patrol_," Jaina said. "Can we really go to the island, Mom?"

Leia smiled. "If your Dad said so, then I guess you can."

"You coming, Jasa?" Anakin asked.

"I don't wanna play smugglers," Jacen said, a hint of his former sullenness poking through. His eyes were red and squinting, and his voice had that slightly ragged edge to it that meant he'd been yelling through his tears.

Luckily, his sister didn't care about sullenness. She put her hands on her hips and cocked her head to the side. "We're not playing smugglers all day, silly," she said. "And there's runyips on the island, Dad says."

"You can stay here if you want to," Leia offered, her voice calm.

Jacen shook his head. "I wanna see the runyips."

"Right, then," Han said with an extra effort at cheerfulness. "Let's get going."

"I'm just going to go and get some snacks," Leia said. "Why don't you help your Dad get the boat ready?"

"The _ship_," Anakin and Jaina corrected in unison.

"Sorry, that's what I meant," Leia said with a smile.

"Are you guys gonna play ball?" Jacen asked when he saw Jaina and Anakin's contraband tucked away in the boat. Reluctance was written all over his face again. _Stang_, but the kid was sensitive today.

"That's our stash," Jaina informed him.

"That's a lame stash," Jacen said, but before Han could say something about complaining and whining, he went on, "You guys should use the snack basket instead. Me and Threepio packed it, it's got way better contraband."

"Hey, great idea." Jaina grinned. "We can pretend it's spice, and eat it."

"You don't eat spice, sweetie," Han said, and raised a finger. "And you never eat your own contraband. Why don't we pretend that we're running food supplies to a rebel base on the island. Food's real tough to come by when you're stationed on a remote base like that."

"Yeah," Jacen said, "they'd be starving, right?"

"Couldn't they pick berries or hunt runyips?" Jaina asked.

"You can't hunt runyips!" Jacen stared at his sister. "That's mean!"

"We might be able to pick berries, though," Han said. Leia had made a point of having Threepio download and sort through all available info on local wildlife and flora—the kids had a habit of playing games where they "hunted for food" and then trying to eat said food. It was better to know beforehand what to look out for. But he remembered something about kaila berries growing wild in this area, and while he wasn't big on wilderness in general, Leia had plenty of knowledge in that regard—and the Force to help her, at that.

When Leia got back, Han began loading children and basket into the boat. He sat in the middle and took up the oars, while Jacen and Jaina rode up front behind him and kept a look out for patrols. Leia took her seat in the back and took up the steering ropes, helped by Anakin, who sat on the planks between her legs.

Jacen and Jaina took turns yelling directions back at Han, which devolved into a contest of who could make up the silliest instructions within minutes. Han relied on his own sense of direction and the suggestions that Leia gave him.

"Do a barrel roll," Jaina said, and she and Jacen dissolved into giggles.

"I'll barrel roll you when we get there," Han said, and Jaina shrieked. It didn't put them off, though.

"S-foils in attack position!" Jacen shouted.

"Engage sublight engines!" Jaina yelled.

"Prepare the escape pods," Anakin said quietly, without looking up from where he was staring over the side of the boat at the passing water.

"Anakin," Jaina said, her tone patronising. "X-Wings don't _have _escape pods."

Anakin sat up. "X-Wings can't fit five people either!" he said. Then he stuck out his tongue, presumably in response to a similar gesture that Jaina was making behind his back.

***

Han managed to dock the boat amidst Leia's calm instructions and shrieking from the twins as reeds and twigs crunched and splashed past the boat. Jaina was out first, followed by Jacen, and then Han had to juggle the oars, the basket, and Anakin somehow before his entire family stood, at last, on the island.

"Let's go find the rebels," Jaina said.

Han picked the basket back up and looked around. The island was pretty small—he could just about see the lake around it in every direction—and was home to four trees, several bushes, and a lot of rocks and reeds. Not terribly dangerous. They would be able to hear the kids everywhere.

"Let's find the rebels," Leia agreed. "And maybe a spot for a rendezvous, don't you think?"

They found a picnic spot nearby, under one of the trees. It was close to the bank, which was unobscured by reeds for a stretch. Han put the basket down.

"Look," Leia said, pointing to a cluster of tiny bushes growing around one of the rocks nearby. "Kaila berries." She bent down, and when she straightened back up, she displayed three tiny, dark purple berries in her hand. "You can eat them. One each."

The boys looked cautious, but Jaina popped one in her mouth, chewed, and grinned. "Yummy."

That was all it took; Jacen and Anakin followed suit, and then Han handed them a cup from the basket and told them that they could pick all they liked.

"Oooh," Jaina said, and her brothers stopped in their tracks as she thought of something. "When we get back, right, you guys be the smugglers, and we'll be the rebels, and you can give us food, kay?"

"Sure thing," Han agreed.

Leia laughed as the kids ran off. "You know, I'm pretty sure most kids don't play politics at that age."

"They're not playing politics." Han sat down and reached up to pull her down beside him. "They're playing cops and robbers. Every kid does that."

Leia gave him an arch look. "Except that our kids never play the part of cop."

"No one ever wants to be the cop," Han said. "Only the really lame kids wanted to be cops."

"As far as you know," Leia pointed out. "You didn't exactly have a law-abiding upbringing, did you?"

"Hey, ask Luke," Han said. "He'll tell you the same thing."

She just shook her head, smiling, and looked out across the lake. The kids' shouts echoed in the background. She leaned against his shoulder. "It's nice here."

"Mhmm." He put an arm around her. "Glad you talked Jacen around."

"I think you got through to him," Leia said. "But he won't admit it. And it's tough for him now, because he can't always keep up with the other two."

"He'd be fine within a few weeks if he'd just _do _something," Han said.

He could feel her nod. "Maybe he will, if we find stuff to do that he can keep up with," she said.

"I don't want to force him," Han said. "I mean, come on, at that age, running around isn't supposed to be exercise, it's just what you do. It's just playing. But he just doesn't seem to enjoy it."

"He got way too carried away with the Jedi stuff," Leia said. "I think it happened after Hethrir. It scared him. Hethrir stifled their Force abilities and Jacen wanted to make sure no one can do that to him again."

"Me too," Han said, his hands automatically clenching. His son shouldn't need to feel like he had to be able to defend himself. He was a _child_, for crying out loud.

"That only sparked it, though," Leia said. "He's over that now. And he got your point, I think, about the Force not being just a tool." She looked up at him with a faint smile. "I have to say, I never expected you to teach him anything about the Force."

He grinned. "Sometimes I think that Jedi issues are easier to sort out with common sense than with Force ability."

She smirked, probably recalling the same philosophical, airy Jedi debates that he was. "You might be right."

"Of course I'm right," he said. "That's why they don't let me into their order, you know. Luke's afraid that I'll take over."

"With your common sense?" Leia scoffed, eyes sparking up at him.

"And my diplomacy," he added. "And my niceness."

"Oh, yes," Leia said. "That makes you a real threat."

He leaned closer to her. "I know."

She gave him one of those half-mocking, half-adoring _I-love-you-nerf-herder_ smiles and reached up to kiss him. He wrapped his arm around her and deepened the kiss, savouring the moment amidst the lapping of water and the cries of birds and kids.

When they drifted apart again, she was smiling, and he gave her his best lop-sided smirk and said, "I love you, you know."

Her smile widened. "Yes," she said simply. Then she pushed him to lie back and nestled into the crook of his arm. Han felt his muscles relax and stared up at the sky, one arm around his wife, listening to the distant voices of his children. Tantrums and other issues notwithstanding, life couldn't get much better than this.

***

The kids came trotting back after almost an hour, faces and hands stained a reddish purple, Jacen carrying the cup full of berries like a trophy.

Leia sat up. "Did you find a lot?"

"Loads," Anakin said.

"Look, Mom, my tongue's all purple!" Jaina opened her mouth and stuck out her tongue, and of course her brothers followed her example. Leia and Han made the obligatory appreciative noises, and Han raised himself up on his elbows.

"You ready for your smuggled food then?"

"I am!" Jaina said.

"Shall I share out the berries for you?" Leia asked. "Or d'you want to eat them later?"

"Share them," Jacen said, and Jaina nodded.

"Yeah," Anakin said. "I need the biggest ones!"

Han raised an eyebrow at him. "Why's that, Junior?"

"'Cause I'm the littlest one," Anakin said. "I need the most vitamins."

Han and Leia burst out laughing. Jacen and Jaina hesitated for a moment, then joined in, while Anakin looked at them all, obviously not seeing what was so funny.

"Right," Leia said, smiling. "I think you can all do with some vitamins, at that. All right. Who wants some juice?"

A chorus of "me" followed that. When Jacen got his cup of juice, he sat down close to Han and grinned at him. "Hey, Dad, guess what? I saw a real live runyip. Just over there behind that bush, see? And it didn't run away for ages."

"Wow," Han said. "It must've liked you."

Jacen's grin grew wider. "Yeah. Can I go back and look for more after we eat?"

"Sure," Han said. "Maybe you'll even find its home."

"Its burrow," Jacen corrected automatically. "What do they look like?"

"I'm not sure," Han said. "I'll help you look if you want."

"Astral!" Jacen beamed.

When Han set off with the kids after the picnic, Jacen's enthusiasm surprised him. The boy bounded along ahead of him and paid rapt attention while Han pointed out two runyip burrows and explained what little he knew of runyip life.

The kids fell silent when he told them that the animals wouldn't show up as long as they made noise, but the chirping of some kind of insect caught Jacen's attention then, and he crept towards the noise in order to catch the critter. Han sat down on a boulder and watched as Jacen succeeded in capturing the insect in his hands.

Jacen giggled. "It's tickling my hand!"

"Let me see!" Jaina demanded. "I want to hold it."

"There's more, catch your own," Jacen said, and Jaina grinned and scrambled off to do so.

Anakin stood before Jacen, head cocked to one side, listening. "I think it's scared."

Jacen brought his hands up near his face. "Shh," he said. "It's okay. Calm. Safe. You're safe. It's okay."

When Jacen opened his hands, Han could see the insect he'd caught sitting on his palm, unmoving. His first thought was that Jacen had suffocated it, but Anakin peered at it and smiled.

"You sent it to sleep!"

"It's not asleep," Jacen said. "It's warm and safe."

The boys looked at it a while longer, then the critter actually moved and jumped down off Jacen's palm, causing them both to shriek and then start laughing. Han was surprised; he would've bet that the thing was dead.

"What d'you do, kid?" he asked.

"I sent it calm thoughts," Jacen said, smiling broadly. "It liked me."

Jaina re-emerged. "Jasa, come help me, I can't get them to hold still for long enough."

"You gotta be nice to them," Jacen said. "Come on."

Han stayed where he was while the kids scrambled around the bushed and occasionally shrieked as whatever critter they were after made a last-minute escape.

Later on, when Han had rowed them back home—and after the waterfight, the swim race, the rebel attack on the Imperial base, and the ensuing "captured" dinner—they sat out on the veranda and watched the sun set beyond the lake while eating their desserts.

"Dad?" Jacen asked eventually.

"Yes?"

"Can we go back there tomorrow?" He pointed at the island. "I wanna see the animals again."

"Sure." Han grinned. "But, you know, I'm pretty sure you'll find some animals around here as well. You just have to look for them."

Jacen grinned back, happy. "I can make them feel safe," he said. "With the Force."

"That's a gift you have," Han said. "When I was a kid, we just had to be fast. And lucky."

"I'm lucky," Jacen said, looking reflective. "It's okay to do that, isn't it, Dad?"

Han knew what he was referring to, and nodded. He didn't see a problem with Jacen coaxing insects and animals to hold still for him. Especially not since it meant that Jacen would be climbing rocks and trees and scrambling under bushes the way he had been today.

Maybe they'd been neglecting his interests without even realising it. Maybe he and Leia needed to make more of an effort to do more things that included nature and animals. Jaina and Anakin were usually sold on anything featuring spaceships, flying, or involving mechanical aspects, but Jacen didn't seem to share their enthusiasm.

But at least he was enthusiastic about _something_again. It involved using the Force, sure enough, but it was different in this case.

So Han grinned at his son. "Yep," he said. "Absolutely. Go for it."


	7. Rogues At Heart

_**Note:**__ Before anyone says anything about Wedge being Rogue Leader at this time, when he's supposed to be a general: I'm taking my cue from Timothy Zahn, who has him and Corran and Janson all in Rogue Squadron in 19 ABY. Just to clear that up!_

**Rogues At Heart**

_(Set in 18 ABY.)_

Military bases had the potential to be endless amounts of fun. By the second day, Jacen Solo and his siblings had scared the mess staff with a ranat that Jacen had found, reprogrammed one of the service droids in the hangar bay to spray everyone with water, used the briefing room to play "don't touch the ground", and caused a lot of laugher by stealing someone's discarded uniform out of the locker room.

By the third day, their mother had decided against bring them on her second tour of the facilities which was to be followed by meetings and dinner with the brass, and their father had roped in a babysitter.

"Just take them outside as much as you can," Leia said now. "Let them run around and burn off some energy."

The twins looked at each other. They were crouching down by the kitchen door, eavesdropping on the "briefing" to see what the plan was and to try and determine how their babysitter felt about his job. The plan sounded okay so far, Jacen thought. Going outside was absolutely fine by him.

"Right." Kyp Durron's voice sounded confident, and he wasn't even asking about what to do if the kids caused trouble, which was disappointing. But then again, he probably knew that they were eavesdropping and was smart enough not to let his discomfort show. If he felt any.

"Thanks, Kyp." Jacen could hear his mother's smile. Then she raised her voice. "Why don't you two come out and say hi to Kyp?"

Of course she'd known that they were listening. Actually, she probably hadn't even needed the Force for that. Jacen started feeling guilty, and a bit embarrassed at being caught, but Jaina just got up and walked into the hall, acting as if it was the norm for them to eavesdrop. In a way, Jacen supposed, it really was. He followed her.

"Hi Kyp," Jaina said, smiling her friendly smile.

"Hi, Kyp," Jacen echoed. He looked up at the Jedi knight. Kyp Durron was a quintessential Jedi, even though he wasn't as well-known as Uncle Luke. He did everything that a Jedi ought to—chased after criminals, fought the bad guys, said clever philosophical things, and he was really good with a lightsaber as well. He was dressed in the tan and dark brown robes of a Jedi, with a dark green belt from which hung his lightsaber and some other equipment that Jacen couldn't identify. His hair was dark and tousled like Jacen's always was, and he gave the twins a smile that lit up his green eyes and crinkled their corners.

"Hey kids," he said. "Doing all right?"

"Fine," Jacen said, and then Leia ruined his efforts at being sullen by ruffling his hair. Jacen never understood why she did that—she always wanted him to comb it and brush it so that it was neat, and then she ruffled it so it got tangled again. He didn't much care what his hair looked like, but it really didn't make any sense.

"All right," Leia said. "Kyp's in charge of you guys for the day, so behave yourselves. Remember he's a Jedi, so no tricks. He'll be onto them."

"No tricks," Jaina said. She liked Kyp; well, in truth, so did Jacen. Kyp visited them occasionally, and he was usually quite fun. Jacen was just being negative about the whole babysitter thing.

Jaina vehemently agreed with that thought.

Leia left them all in the small living area—base accommodation was never very spacious, but Jacen quite liked it that way—and went to get changed.

Kyp laughed at the chaos that reigned in the living area. "Did you set off a thermal in here?"

It did look pretty bad when you didn't know what was going on, Jacen realised. Their toys were everywhere—but it wasn't as bad as it looked. The room was just small, so their mess wasn't as spread-out as it usually was.

He grinned. "Yep."

"Imagine if thermals did that," Jaina said. "Explode toys everywhere."

That would be pretty cool, Jacen thought. As long as they didn't explode with fire, of course. Most toys weren't really fireproof, although Jacen's Dad always swore that he was going to write to the toy companies and request it.

"We'd have loads around here," Jacen said. "The base must have a lot of thermals."

"Be nice, wouldn't it?" Kyp surveyed the room. "Is there anywhere I can sit, or d'you need all that stuff on the couch?"

They'd used the two couches as boats the day before, and they'd hit reefs and floated around derelict while clambering over to visit each other and try to repair the boats, fighting off pirates and krakana, and scavenging for food in the sea. Anakin had captained the armchair and had, for reasons best known to himself, needed to bring along the night light from the kids' room.

"We'll move it," Jacen said. By unspoken agreement, the twins left Anakin's boat alone—you never knew when you disturbed something important and caused a tantrum—and moved their equipment off the couches, or at least to the side.

"You wanna play a board game?" Jaina asked.

Kyp sat down on her boat and nodded. "Sure. Pick one."

"Nah," Jacen said while Jaina retrieved their travel game box. "You're the guest, you get to pick." That was good manners. Jacen didn't use them all that often, but he did have them, and Threepio wasn't around so he wouldn't be praised for it.

Kyp gave in when Jaina insisted along with Jacen, and managed to pick their current favourite. That earned him points, Jacen figured. They were engrossed in the game by the time Han and Anakin showed up.

"Who's winning?" Han asked. "Hey, Kyp."

Jaina made a face. "Jacen."

"Hey Han," Kyp said. "They're both beating me, I think."

Anakin glanced at the game. "Jaina's gonna win. But I helped Dad get ready." He sounded proud, even though usually, Anakin couldn't care less about getting ready or helping someone else get ready. Jacen took it in stride. Anakin picked strange things to take pride in sometimes.

"Yep, you sure did." Han ruffled Anakin's hair, which, unlike Jacen's, never got very tousled. Jacen grinned. His Dad looked uncomfortable in his dress uniform—black pants and jacket with red and gold trim, a white shirt, and insignia on his chest—but Jacen thought that he looked way more respectable that way.

Jaina grinned, too. "You're all dressed up," she said. "D'you still hate the collar?"

Han tugged at it. "Yep, still hate the collar. I think maybe it was made by a Sith lord."

Jacen and Jaina laughed. Anakin frowned.

"Sith lords don't make collars," he said.

"I don't know," Han said. "Maybe next time you're on Yavin 4, Tionne will sing you the ballad of Darth Seamstress."

Kyp laughed. Anakin looked unsure. Jaina rolled her eyes. "You're just making that up."

Jacen was pretty sure that she was right. And even if his Dad was telling the truth, it sounded like a really boring story.

Leia came to join them then, smiling. Her hair was twisted and braided into an elaborate style, and she wore a white skirt and blouse under a short black and red jacket. It wasn't quite a uniform, but Jacen thought that it looked pretty military. His Mom could fit in anywhere. She was good at dressing up.

"Ready, Han?" she asked.

"I'm always ready," Han replied. It was true. Leia never had to wait for Han, it was always the other way around. Jacen guessed that it was probably because his Mom needed more time to do her hair. Getting changed couldn't really take that long.

Leia smiled when Han tugged at his clothes again, and took his hand. She, at least, liked it when Jacen's Dad dressed up. "All right," she said. "Jaina, Jacen, Anakin, you be good for Kyp. Do what he says, okay?"

Jacen and his siblings nodded.

"There's food in the kitchen," Leia added in Kyp's direction, "but it's probably easier to just go to the mess. We'll be back after dinner."

"Right." Kyp nodded just like the kids had before him. "No worries. Have a good time."

"Oh, yeah," Han said, looking like he didn't mean it at all. "See you later, kids!"

They chorused their goodbyes, and with that, Han and Leia were gone.

"Okay," Kyp said, "whose turn was it?"

Anakin perched on the arm rest beside Jacen as they continued their game. Eventually, Jaina won—which didn't surprise Jacen much, after Anakin's prediction—and their little brother joined in for the next game. Which he promptly won, of course.

Afterwards, Jacen looked at Kyp. "Can we go outside?"

Kyp nodded. "Sure. But no running off. Don't want to get in the way of those military types, do we?"

"Nope." Jacen jumped up off the couch. "Can we go now?"

"Do we need coats?" Jaina asked.

"I don't want a coat," Anakin said, who was wearing a short-sleeved shirt and would probably start complaining about the cold the minute he set foot outside. It wasn't _really_ cold outside, and the weather announcer had said that the sun was shining, but it wasn't warm enough for short sleeves either.

Kyp smirked. "You'll want at least a jumper," he said. He rose from the couch and looked around. "Uhm. Where d'you guys keep those?"

"I'll do it," Jaina said. She tugged at Anakin's hand. "C'mon."

* * *

The base was big, and brand-new, and had some kind of new-fangled defence technology that Anakin had got all excited about when they'd been given the tour. Jacen and his siblings spent the next few hours playing Safe House with Kyp, designating a comms tower as the safe house, where you were invulnerable for a count of ten.

It was Jaina's turn, and she was close to catching Anakin, when Anakin stopped running and crossed his arms. "Time out!"

Jaina grabbed him. "Gotcha!"

"I said time out!" Anakin shouted. "It doesn't _count_!"

"You can't just call time out," Jaina said. "That's what the safe house is for."

Anakin stuck out his bottom lip. "But I'm hungry."

Kyp stepped in before Jacen's brother and sister could start a proper argument. "Why don't we all go and get some lunch, then?"

"Fine," Jaina said. "But Anakin's it, afterwards."

"No I'm not!" Anakin yelled. "It didn't _count_!"

Jacen sighed, uncomfortable. He didn't like it when Jaina and Anakin fought. For one thing, they both got far too stubborn about it, and for another, he couldn't take sides or even try to resolve it because then they'd both turn on_ him_.

But Kyp held up his hands. "Okay, okay, whoah," he said. "Let's go eat, and then _I'll_ be it. All right?"

"Okay," Anakin said. Jaina said nothing.

"Jaina?" Kyp asked. "Is that all right?"

The look on Jaina's face was almost the same as the one Anakin had had just a few seconds earlier. But she nodded. "Fine."

It was as good as Kyp was going to get, but by the time they got to the mess, Jaina had forgotten about the whole thing. She never sulked for long.

The mess was a huge hall filled with long tables and benches and soldiers. Jacen and Jaina had run ahead of Kyp and Anakin, and came to a stop at the entrance. It was after lunchtime, so Jacen guessed the hall didn't count as full, but there were still a lot of people.

"Big place," Jaina commented.

"Yeah." Jacen looked around and found the line of food dispensers at the far side of the hall. At least there was no queue. He could feel his stomach starting to growl at him when the smell of the food reached him.

"Well, come on, guys," Kyp said from behind them. He walked past, Anakin by his side, and started meandering past the tables.

When they were standing in line with Kyp, Jacen nudged his sister. "Hey, isn't that the Rogues?"

He didn't need to point; Jaina always knew where he meant. "Oh, yeah!" She grinned and tugged at Kyp's sleeve. "Hey, Kyp, you know the Rogues?"

"Some of them." Kyp waved over at Wes Janson, who had noticed them now.

"Can we sit with them?" Jaina's eyes were bright. She loved space ships and pilots and everything to do with flying. Jacen didn't share her enthusiasm, at least not to that degree, but he'd met the Rogues a few times—they'd accompanied the Solos on the way to this base, too—and liked them.

Kyp grinned. "If they've got space for us."

When they'd all picked their food and drinks and Kyp was balancing two trays, one in each hand, two other pilots had joined Wes Janson in waving at them and Jaina was beaming from ear to ear. She bounced ahead of the others to greet everyone.

"Hi Wes! Wedge! Can we sit with you guys?"

Wedge Antilles was smiling when Jacen joined his sister. "Hi Jaina. Hello Jacen. Sure, make yourselves comfortable."

The twins shook hands before they sat down. Anakin did not; he bowed at the waist and took his seat with a solemn air. Jacen and Jaina exchanged a glance. Sometimes, Anakin really acted weird.

Kyp set down their trays, using the Force to keep them from tipping over, and sat down beside Anakin after exchanging his own greetings.

Jacen seized his plate of tuber slices and vegetables, and dug in. It wasn't great, but he wasn't about to admit that or throw a childish strop over how he didn't like his food at this table. It was mess food. Dad always said that mess food was _supposed _to be bad. Jacen didn't really see why, but then, he wasn't a general like his Dad.

Wedge cleared his throat. "So," he said. "I hear you're the ones responsible for Janson's most recent escapade?"

Jacen and Jaina looked up from their food at the same time and gave him what Jacen suspected was an identical look of innocence. Someone laughed, but Wedge looked almost stern.

"What escapade?" Jaina asked.

Wes Janson answered. "Well, the other day, I was having a shower, and someone made off with—"

"Oh _stang_," Jaina said.

Jacen turned to his sister. "Jaina!"

"What?" She tried to look defiant. "Dad says it!"

"So I take it you're guilty?" Kyp asked. He was grinning.

Jacen nodded. "Yeah." There really was no point in lying about it.

"Good for you," Wedge said. He was grinning now, too. "Usually it's Janson who pulls these pranks on other people. Couldn't have hit a better target."

Janson looked offended. "That's slander."

"It's not slander when I say it to your face," Wedge said. "Then it's just an insult."

"It's also slander to accuse your commanding officer of slander," Hobbie said.

Jacen didn't know what "slander" meant, but he could guess. He and Jaina grinned at each other.

"You're not mad?" Jacen asked.

"Nope," Wedge said.

"Absolutely not," Tycho Celchu added. Jacen knew Tycho quite well; he was married to Winter, Jacen's nanny and Leia's best friend, and came by occasionally.

Janson looked hurt, but Jacen suspected that he was playacting. "But—"

"More like grateful," Hobbie said. "This way I don't have to do it and get in trouble."

Jaina giggled. "Why would you have to do it?"

"To get him back for all the pranks he pulls on me," Hobbie explained.

Jacen glanced at Janson. This could be interesting. "What pranks?"

Tycho smiled. "Why don't you ask Wedge if he'll tell you the Ewok story?"

Jacen could feel his siblings join him in turning wide eyes on the commander of Rogue Squadron.

Wedge sighed. "Well, a few years ago, I was in charge of a bunch of crazies called Wraith Squadron…"

* * *

Lunch was the most fun Jacen had ever had while eating. When Wedge finished his story, Janson made them all laugh with a great impression of Wedge talking in an Ewok voice, and then Corran Horn told them about his son Valin, who was younger than Jacen and always asked really silly questions.

It took Jacen and Jaina a lot longer than usual to finish their food. Anakin was finished far quicker, having no problem with listening and shovelling food into his mouth.

"Right then," Wedge said, pushing back his plate. "Thanks for keeping us company, guys."

"What're you gonna do now?" Jaina asked.

"Well, until tomorrow, we don't really have much to do. We're just here as escort for your parents," Wedge explained. "So I guess it's simm time. Gotta stay in practice."

Jaina's eyes grew wide. "Oooh. Can't we come along?"

"_Jaina_," Jacen whispered, even though he was hoping for the same thing. But you weren't supposed to ask people that kind of thing when they were working. He would've asked Kyp, and then Kyp could've asked. It was always better to get an adult to ask.

But the same thing that had worked for Jaina in the past worked for her now. Wedge and the others only grinned at her forwardness.

"Well," Wedge said, "I'd say that's up to your babysitter."

On that cue, Jacen joined his siblings in turning pleading eyes on Kyp.

"Oh, Kyp, can we?" Jaina asked.

"Please?" Anakin added.

Kyp held up his hands. "Hey, if the Rogues don't mind, I'm not going to say no."

"Yes!" Jacen said, in unison with his sister.

Wedge laughed. "Come on, then."

Jacen spent the next few minutes trying to be a model child, trotting along the base corridors with the others with a serious expression. He wasn't crazy about flying the way Jaina was, but he'd been in a simm room before, and it was wicked fun to climb around the simulators with his siblings and pretend that they were flying.

"I'm not going to run a proper simm for you guys," Wedge said. Jacen nodded; he had to grow another bit before he could reach the pedals properly, and besides, his parents would never allow it anyway. Wedge continued, "but we can call up a target practice program if you like? You can shoot some target drones."

"Oooh," Jaina said.

"Yes," Anakin said.

"Yes yes yes," Jacen said. They'd never got to do that before.

Wedge grinned. "All right then. Give me a second."

"I can set it up," Kyp said. "If you guys want to get started on yours."

Wedge nodded. "Thanks. Hey, if you wanna join us…"

Kyp hesitated. Jacen and Jaina exchanged a glance. It didn't take a genius to figure out why Kyp was reluctant.

"We won't wander off if we finish first," Jacen said.

"Besides, you can keep tabs on us with the Force anyway," Jaina added.

Kyp cocked an eyebrow. "I have your word?"

"Promise," Jacen said, and Jaina nodded.

"Cross my heart," Anakin said.

Kyp nodded. "Right. I'm going to trust you to keep your word, because Jedi always keep theirs. And I think you're old enough to keep your promises like proper Jedi do."

They all nodded. And Jacen, at least, meant it. It wasn't every day that you got to prove to Kyp Durron that you could be a proper Jedi.

He and Jaina bounced on their heels while Kyp prepped the simulators that Wedge had pointed out to him. Janson winked at them as he walked past and hoisted himself up the ladder and into the simulator. Corran and Tycho gave them a cheerful wave before their disappeared into their own pretend cockpits. Jacen could feel Jaina sharing his excitement at this new challenge. He nudged her. She gave him a delighted grin and nudged him back.

"This is gonna be fun," Anakin said.

Jacen felt Kyp's watchful eyes on him as he clambered up the ladder. If he'd slipped, he knew, he wouldn't have fallen far. Kyp was ready to catch him and his siblings with the Force. He supposed that he couldn't really blame the guy; he was in charge, after all.

Jacen settled into his chair and pressed the control to lower the canopy. The screens came to life and showed a background of stars. His control board lit up, a menu screen flickered to life in front of him, and a computer voice began telling him what buttons to touch in order to get started.

He tried to keep from bouncing in his seat as he gripped the control yoke. His ship wasn't moving; the computer painted a target right in front of him, and he just squeezed the trigger. The drone exploded and he grinned.

"To eliminate the next target, rotate 12 degrees to starboard," the computer voice told him. Jacen had no idea how to tell what 12 degrees were, but he knew what starboard was, so he gripped the control yoke and tilted it to the right. Outside, the stars moved, and a drone flashed past the screen.

"Whoops," he muttered. "Too much." He tilted the stick back to the left, more gently this time, until the drone came back into view. It took a little longer before he could squeeze the trigger again, but then the red light flashed from the side of his canopy and the drone exploded.

Then it got harder, because the drones started moving, and he had to initiate the engine—not properly, but Kyp had programmed it to start with a button, and stay at a constant speed without Jacen having to use the pedals—and give chase.

When he'd shot down all twelve drones, the computer shut down the simulation and Jacen popped the canopy, a wide grin on his face. Jaina was just clambering down the ladder of her simulator; she looked up at him, clearly delighted that she'd beaten him. Jacen gave a mental shrug. Like that was a surprise.

Anakin had just joined them when one of the other simulators popped open and Wes Janson vaulted out of it and down the ladder. He pulled off his helmet as he came over to them, his eyes sparkling with an expression that Jacen knew well. He'd seen it on Jaina's face countless times.

"Hey, kids." Wes' voice was hushed. "Wanna help me with something?"

Jacen looked up at him. "What?"

"Just a little surprise I have planned." Wes grinned. "Hobbie just shot me down, and I still need to get him back for something anyway."

"What're you going to do?" Jaina asked. Anakin stood beside her, attentive and serious.

"Come on. I'm pretty sure I saw a basin lying around back there. I can fill it with water and then we'll put it at the bottom of Hobbie's ladder."

Jaina laughed. "Won't he see it?"

Wes tapped the side of his nose. "Not if we distract him. Come on."

They followed Wes into the prep room adjoining the simm area. Jacen figured that it didn't really count as wandering off, and besides, they had an adult with them.

Wes rummaged around in a locker and eventually came up triumphant, holding a large basin. "Right on target."

"How're you gonna fill it with water?" Jacen asked.

Wes weaved his way back through the simulators towards the one where Hobbie sat. "There's a hose over by the wall. I'll show you." He put the basin down at the bottom of the ladder and then went to retrieve a hose that was coiled up against the wall.

"Isn't that for safety?" Jaina asked.

"Yes," Wes said. "And you should never, ever use it for anything else." He winked. Jacen laughed.

"Okay," Wes went on. "Jacen, will you turn this lever to get it going when I tell you?"

Jacen nodded and moved closer. "Sure."

They had the basin filled within two minutes, and Wes filled them in on the rest of his plan. "Right, so we need to distract Hobbie so he doesn't notice the sabotage," Wes said. "So what I need you to do is sit over here, with me, and then just call over to him and wave when he pops the canopy. Ask him if he really shot me down or something, that should get him bragging."

Jaina grinned. "We can do that."

Wes entertained them with more stories and jokes while they waited. Eventually, Hobbie's canopy hissed open, and Hobbie's helmeted head came into view.

"Hey, Hobbie!" Jaina called, and waved. Jacen joined her.

Hobbie looked over, one foot already on the ladder, and waved back. A familiar thrill of excitement ran through Jacen's stomach, the kind that always came with a prank about to hit.

"Did you really shoot down Wes?" he called to Hobbie.

"Sure did!" Hobbie sounded well-pleased with himself at that. "But Wes is pretty easy to shoot down, really."

"Hey," Wes muttered. But at that moment, Hobbie's feet left the ladder in what was supposed to be a small hop down to the ground. There was a splash as he landed with both feet square in the water. Jacen and Jaina and Anakin burst out laughing as Hobbie started cursing.

"Hobbie's pretty easy to prank," Wes said loudly, and then he, too, broke into laughter.

Hobbie stepped out of the basin. The bottoms of his pants were dripping. "I'll get you back, Wes," he swore.

Jacen turned to say something to his siblings, and suddenly noticed that Anakin had disappeared. In the meantime, Hobbie looked around, and found the hose that Wes had left on the ground. He picked it up, but it only dribbled a few drops.

"They should have the lever for that thing a bit closer—" he started, but then, suddenly, water sprayed out of the hose in the direction where Wes, Jacen and Jaina sat.

"Aha!" Hobbie yelled. Jaina shrieked and Jacen pulled her out of the way of the water. But it was Wes that Hobbie targeted, anyway. Wes jumped up, yelling something, but Hobbie advanced towards him, hose in hand.

Jacen pulled Jaina in the other direction and they both turned to watch Wes get drenched. A few seconds later, the water stopped again. Jacen peered past the simulators towards the wall, and saw Anakin let go of the lever that turned the water on and off. He sighed. He should have expected that. Anakin had an odd sense of justice at times, and he was usually happy to help someone get revenge for a prank that he himself had helped to plan.

"Hobbie!" Wes shook himself off. He was dripping wet.

Jacen looked down at himself. His shirt was damp at the front, and so was Jaina's, but they had avoided the worst. Anakin joined them, dry as Tatooine sand, a satisfied smile on his face. "Pretty easy to prank," he said.

One by one, the Rogues emerged from the simulators, with Wedge and Kyp being the last ones out. Wedge took one look at Wes and Hobbie, standing there surrounded by the others, and sought out Jacen and his siblings. His mouth quirked. "Report," he said.

Jacen took the lead this time, but Jaina joined him in telling the story. When they finished, Wedge looked stern for a few seconds more, then his face broke into a grin and he shook his head. "Kids." He looked at Jacen and his brother and sister. "And I don't mean you three."

Kyp narrowed his eyes at them. "I can't leave you alone for a second, can I?"

"We didn't wander off," Jacen said.

"And it was Janson's idea," Jaina said.

"We were just doing like we were told," Jacen added.

"Good kids always do what the adults say," Anakin said, and even Jacen couldn't tell whether or not his kid brother was being sarcastic or sincere.

Kyp shook his head and gave them a wry look. "Okay. Just for future reference, Janson does not count as an adult."

"Hey!" Janson protested.

"Major Janson, Major Klivian, go get changed," Wedge cut in. "And then you get to clean up this mess."

"It's just water," Hobbie said. "It'll dry on its own."

"And you're going to help it do that," Wedge said. "Orders, gents. Scat."

Jacen grinned as Hobbie and Janson left the simm room. It wasn't every day that he got to stand by and watch others get punished for a prank, either.

* * *

"How'd it go?" Han Solo asked a few hours later, when he'd seen Kyp to the door.

Jacen, lying sprawled across the arm chair with his head resting on one arm rest and his feet dangling over the other, tilted his head so he could look at his Dad. "It was great," he said. His voice sounded funny from the odd angle that his neck was at.

"We got to hang out with the Rogues," Jaina said.

"Everyone got splashed but me," Anakin said. He was nestled beside Leia, leaning against her side, feet up on the sofa.

Han sat down beside Jaina on the other sofa. "Splashed?"

Jacen hesitated for an instant. But Anakin had already spilled the beans now, and besides, they hadn't got in trouble for it earlier, had they?

Jaina answered for him. "Janson showed us a prank."

They explained it in turns again, like they had to Wedge. Afterwards, Han's mouth quirked into a lop-sided grin. "Ah," was all he said. He wouldn't admit it, but Jacen always got the feeling that some part of his Dad was dead chuffed that his kids were troublemakers. Well, at least when they weren't actively making trouble for him.

Leia nodded, a faint smile on her face. "How nice of Janson to show you a new prank. I must thank him for that sometime."

Jacen gave her a doubtful look. His mother had a way of phrasing threats sometimes that his Dad called "diplomatic", but he thought that "extra-threatening" was a better word for it. Somehow, he got the distinct impression that thanking wasn't at all the right word for what Leia really meant.


	8. Born to Fly

**Flying**

_(Set in 22 ABY.)_

"Be careful." Leia Organa Solo gave her husband a warning look. Jaina and Jacen both laughed as Han flung up both of his arms in mock surrender.

"Hey," he said. "Don't worry. Nothing's going to happen."

"Hyperdrive works?" she asked pointedly.

"_Mom_," Jaina said, "we're not even going _into_ hyperspace."

Han grinned at his daughter and gave Leia a smug look. "See?"

Leia shook her head and turned to her oldest son with a wry look on her face. "Jacen, I'm counting on you to stop them from trying anything stupid."

Jacen grinned, a lop-sided grin that brought out his resemblance to his father. "What, I have to be grown up enough for Dad _and_ Jaina? That's impossible."

"For you, yes," Jaina shot back. "You're no match. Although," she grinned, "your voice is a nice mix of both, you're –"

She shrieked when Jacen, the butt of too many jokes regarding his breaking voice, dug his finger into her ribs.

"C'mon, you two," Han said as Jaina squirmed away from Jacen, giggling. "Let's go, huh?"

Jacen gestured at the ramp and grinned at his sister. "Age before beauty."

She landed a punch on his arm and ran up the ramp before he could retaliate. He gave a yell and raced after her. Something crashed and Jaina shrieked again. Han sighed, waved at his wife, and hurried up the ramp after his kids.

Jaina had already claimed the co-pilot's seat, which didn't surprise him a whole lot, and Jacen stood behind her, bouncing on the balls of his feet. Han dropped into the pilot's chair and turned to regard both of his kids.

"All right," he said. "I'm going to take her up, we get well away from the major traffic lanes, and then you can take turns at the helm. Not before that."

They both nodded, Jacen still fidgeting and Jaina seemingly unable to get the grin off her face. He couldn't help but grin back. Their excitement was infectious, a mirror of what he'd felt the first time he'd been allowed behind the controls of a ship.

"First things first," Han said, "pre-flight check. The ship will do most of it automatically, you just key in the command." He flicked a few switches, more slowly than usual to allow the twins to follow the routine. "This simulates sublight engines, here's the hyperdrive—"

"—which is important," Jacen threw in.

Han chuckled. Leia really was never going to let it go. The twins had never even experienced a hyperdrive malfunction. "Right," he said. "This is all just simulation, since we can't fire it for real. The system just checks if all the circuits are working." He was pretty sure that Jaina already knew most of this, but Jacen probably hadn't picked up quite as much. And Jaina was surprising him by sitting in silence, taking in every word, as attentive as Han had never seen her before.

"Then you check the repulsors, degaussers—" he went on, pointing to the relevant displays and lights in the console.

"It says 'stabilisers' on that one," Jacen said, stabbing a finger at the console.

"Right, right." Han sighed. So much for doing things by the book. In a ship like the Falcon, that was pretty much impossible, even though he really was trying his best. Chewie and he almost never ran the complete pre-flights. "We had to rewire the degausser cables because—well, never mind, but the displays are swapped until we can sort it out. Stabilisers show up over here. It's not really important as long as they all work."

Jacen laughed. "Uh-huh."

Han cleared his throat and went on to the next set. "Shields, life support, and navicomputer. Those are important, especially life support. Jacen, can you check the display behind you, see if the shields are all set?"

It took the boy a moment, and Han already knew that the shields were working because if they weren't, the repulsor display would be flickering (for reasons best known to itself), but this was supposed to be educational. His kids were doers. They would learn far more if they did things for themselves.

"All green," Jacen reported.

Han ran a few more diagnostics, accompanied by Jaina's serious nods and Jacen's off-hand comments until the pre-flight checklist was complete. The boy was overly casual, making his usual remarks but with an underlying sense of—what? The twins had been excited about this for the past few days, ever since he'd told them that they could have a go at flying the Falcon, but now Jacen seemed to be trying too hard to be relaxed about it all. Han suppressed a sigh. Teenagers were complicated. Jaina was still as straightforward as ever, but Jacen had started to cover up the emotions that he perceived as "weak". Han could understand that, but it did make the kid harder to read.

"Fire up the repulsors, will you, Jaina?" he asked as he started running through the ignition sequence.

He saw a smile quirk at the corners of her mouth, but she nodded seriously and began flicking switches. The repulsors fired without a hitch, and Han felt a surge of pride as he finished ignition and took the _Falcon_ off the ground.

He made a point of clearing everything with Coruscant Traffic Control this time; he didn't think it would convince his children to play by the laws, not after thirteen years of showing them otherwise, but this way, Leia wouldn't have reason to blame him. She'd probably do it anyway, but he could maintain that he'd done his best. Genes were no one's fault. And when it came to negative influences, his were still better than hers, although that wasn't something he was ever going to use in an argument.

Once they'd left Coruscant and its traffic behind them, he turned to Jaina with a grin and said, "Ship's yours, captain." With that, he keyed control over to her side.

Jaina gripped the steering yoke harder and turned the Falcon to port, carefully, gauging reactions. She grew more confident with every manoeuvre, picking up speed and then flipping the Falcon over and around its own axis. There were slight wobbles, which Han accredited to her nervousness and the fact that it did take some strength to fly a spaceship. But her brown eyes were shining and her young face was set in a mixture of concentration and elation, and it was easy to tell that this kid was born to fly.

"How do I roll?" Jaina asked.

"Maintain speed and fire the stabilisers," Han said. "Left one up, right one down. And then break to starboard. Keep the yoke steady, and stay on course."

Jaina's hands found the right controls faster than he'd expected, and then the stars began to whirl in front of the Falcon as she turned slowly along her axis. Jaina sucked in a breath through her teeth and let out a nervous laugh. "Need some practice."

"Looks a bit lop-sided," Jacen agreed.

"Check your threat board," Han told his daughter. "Look. You're doing fine. It looks lop-sided from here because the cockpit's not in the middle of the ship."

The display was rotating in relation to the Falcon, and it was almost perfectly symmetrical about it. Impressive, considering that she'd never done this before.

When the time came for Jacen to take over, Jaina's face was split by a perpetual grin.

"Sit down, sweetie," Han said as the twins swapped seats. "We're doing this by the book."

She complied and buckled her crash restraints, but leaned forward to look over her brother's shoulder as best she could.

Jacen blew out a sigh, and flexed his fingers. Han gave him an encouraging nod. The boy took the controls, and Han keyed over again.

Jacen's flying was as careful as Jaina's, but there was something else to it. Han watched as Jacen manoeuvred the Falcon through empty space, and realised that the boy was scared. He'd lost the easy-going attitude the moment when Jaina had become more comfortable. It was probably not easy to take the helm after his sister, whom everyone always compared to Han and whose aptitude for flying was generally known, had already shown what she could do. Han had always found Jacen harder to read than Jaina, but at this moment it was perfectly clear that the boy was worried, scared even, about letting him down.

Scared, but not scared enough to avoid the situation altogether. Han felt a brief surge of pride in his son, like he did every time one of his kids faced up to their fears. He didn't always understand them, but he could always appreciate the principle behind what they were doing.

And it was funny, how it was easier to figure people out when they were sitting behind the controls of a ship.

"Looking good," Han said, and met Jacen's eyes. "You're doing great."

Jacen nodded and licked his lips. "Getting there."

"It's empty space," Han said. "Don't worry, we can't crash into anything."

"Just getting a feel for it," Jacen said, concentrating on the controls. "How—Dad, how do I loop?"

"You just pull up." Han grinned. "Just keep pulling up till you're back at the level. Keep an eye on your instruments. Try it."

Jacen gripped the steering yoke, and then the stars were blinking past the cockpit as the ship performed a neat loop.

"Slower you are," Han said, "the tighter you can loop. Can be good for getting behind someone, but it's a cheap trick."

"So you combine it with something else," Jacen said, suddenly sounding confident. His left hand found the controls, and the_ Falcon_ flipped to the side and then spun along her own axis.

Han grinned. "Right! Where'd you learn that?"

"Watched you and Jaina," Jacen said. "Actually, this is fun."

Jaina demanded another turn after another few manoeuvres, and Han clapped Jacen on the back as the twins exchanged seats once more.

"Nice one, son," he said.

Jacen grinned at him, clearly relieved. "Anakin said I'd find a way to crash. Can't wait to tell him I didn't."

"Anakin's just jealous." Jaina grinned. "I would be too. This is stellar."

Han felt kind of bad about not taking Anakin along, but there was no way that he was letting an eleven-year-old behind the controls of his ship. Chewie would have a fit, if nothing else. Anakin might display a remarkable aptitude with machinery, but Han was determined that he would wait at least another year.

Besides, even if he were willing, Leia would never agree to it.

"You just make sure to tell your mother that the controls worked," Han told them.

"Can I have another go?" Jacen asked.

Jaina reluctantly vacated the pilot's seat once again, and this time, every one of Jacen's movements bespoke his newfound confidence. Han grinned as he watched his son behind the controls. He'd conquered his demons.

"Dad," Jaina said later, when Han took the ship back down towards Coruscant. "Can we do this again?"

"I'm sure we can," Han told her. "You did great. Both of you."

"D'you reckon I'll make a good pilot?" Jaina asked. "I mean, really? Not just in sims?"

Han grinned and made sure to look at Jacen as well as he answered. "I'd say so. If that's what you want. I think that you'd both make good pilots. From here on it's all practice."

Jacen shrugged and smiled. "Somehow, I reckon Jaina'll get more of that in than me," he said. "I'm just glad I didn't break anything."


	9. Tavern Songs

**Tavern Songs**

_(Set in 21 ABY.)_

Jacen Solo shifted his weight from one foot to the other, unable to keep still. "Please, Mom?"

His parents exchanged another look. "I really don't know," Leia said.

Well, they'd expected that their parents would be difficult to persuade. Difficult, but not impossible.

"But Zekk has never been to the zoo," Jaina said. "And it's not like it's dangerous!"

"I seem to remember that the two of you are fond of disappearing from that zoo," Han said.

Jacen sighed. They were never going to let that one go. "Holding grudges is bad," he said, keeping a straight face. "You're meant to forgive and forget."

Han and Leia burst out laughing, like he'd intended, and he grinned back at them.

"Right," Leia said. "But we just don't have time this weekend. I have conferences, and your father needs to sort out that trade agreement in the Kathol Sector."

"We know," Jacen said. Time with his parents was a rare commodity. But that wasn't exactly what he and Jaina wanted this time, anyway. His mother just hadn't latched onto that yet. "But we're twelve now, and Zekk is fourteen. Aren't we old enough to go alone yet?"

His father raised his eyebrows. "Oh, _that's_ how it is, huh? You want to go alone?"

"Not necessarily," Jaina said quickly. They'd discussed that beforehand, too, and they both knew that if their parents thought that they _wanted_ to go alone, they'd be suspicious. Jacen wasn't an idiot. He knew perfectly well that the grown-ups knew that when the twins tried to be alone, it meant trouble. Which honestly wasn't the plan this time.

"It's just that you guys don't have time," Jaina went on. "And it's gonna be ages till you do. But we thought, well, maybe we're old enough now, and Zekk is older, so maybe we can go on our own. We're not going to do anything stupid like run off or something."

"What about Anakin?" Leia asked. "I don't think we should leave him on his own, should we?"

"He can come too," Jacen said. She was asking practical questions, that was a good sign. And he was pretty sure that they could persuade his brother that a day at the holographic zoo would be fun. "He likes the zoo."

"Maybe we ought to ask him before we plan anything," Leia said. She looked intently at them both. "You're promising me that Zekk is going to be there."

"Promise," Jacen said.

"That's why we came up with the idea in the first place," Jaina added.

"And you're not going to do anything stupid," Han said. "No wandering off, no spur-of-the-moment adventures, and no breaking any rules."

"Sure," Jacen said, feeling the familiar excitement that always bubbled in his stomach when he could tell that he was about to get a "yes". If his parents agreed, this was going to be stellar. If they were allowed to go out on their own, why would they need to break any rules or wander off? Besides, he was smart enough to figure that if they got into trouble the very first time, that would be the end of it forever. "Just the zoo."

"Just the zoo," Jaina echoed. "And maybe the park outside the zoo for a picnic."

"That sounds reasonable," Leia said. "All right. I can drop you there on my way to work, and pick you up in my afternoon break. It'll mean spending the day there, though."

"Stellar!" Jacen exclaimed. He and Jaina grinned at each other, her brown eyes reflecting the delight in his own. This was going to be great.

* * *

Anakin wasn't hard to persuade—the holographic zoo held fascination for him, and when Jaina reminded him of the section where they showed you how the animals were programmed, he was sold. Jacen was bouncing in his seat as Leia drove the speeder across the city, and he couldn't keep the grin off his face when she dropped them at the zoo and made them promise to keep the comlink on at all times and to answer her immediately when she called.

Jaina took the comlink and clipped it to the front of her shirt. "Won't lose it," she said confidently.

"Hey there!" a voice called out, and Jacen turned to see Zekk coming towards them. Their friend looked the same as always, although he'd evidently made an effort to tidy himself up today. His dark hair hung into his eyes as usual, but his clothes were clean, and his green eyes shone with pleasure at seeing them.

Jaina hugged him, Anakin waved, and Jacen punched Zekk's arm. "Hey!"

"Hello, Zekk." Leia gave the boy a warm smile. "You'll look out for this lot, won't you? I'm leaving you in charge."

"No problem, ma'am." Zekk returned the smile. "I'll keep the peace."

Leia reminded them again of when she would pick them up, to remember the comlink, to remember to eat, and above all, to remember to be polite to the zoo staff, and then she was gone. Jacen stopped nodding earnestly, rubbed his hands together, and grinned at the others. "Right," he said. "Let's go."

His parents had already ordered the tickets, and Jacen had persuaded them that he should be allowed to carry them if Jaina got to be in charge of the comlink. She pulled the "five minutes older" card far too often.

When he offered Zekk his ticket, the older boy looked uncomfortable. "I can buy my own," he said.

Zekk was touchy about money, they had learned that by now, but Jaina knew how to deal with him. She gave him an apologetic look. "_You_ can," she said. "But Mom wouldn't let _us _buy our own, and there was just no way she was gonna let us go unless she was sure that we all had tickets and that none of us would be forced to wait outside or something." When he still looked undecided, she grinned at him. "If it makes you feel better, there's a sweet shop somewhere around here that we can go to afterwards…"

His face broke into a grin, and he took her hand and shook it. "Deal."

The receptionist scanned their tickets, looking bored, but her mood seemed to pick up when they all said "thanks". He felt kind of bad for her. It had to be pretty annoying, having to sit here and scan tickets all day when just a few meters down the hallway, you could look at all sorts of extinct animals and even mythical creatures. Of course she'd be in a bad mood. He was last in line, and he flashed her his best grin when it came to his turn. She smiled back, which he chalked up as a victory of sorts.

Going to the zoo without adult supervision had one major advantage, as Jacen soon discovered: you didn't have to go slowly, in order. You could run from one display to the next and back, skip the ones you didn't like, go back to your favourites.

"Look," Jaina said, pointing at a crowd of Ithorian monkey lizards. "They're going crazy!"

As they watched, one of the monkey lizards sprang away from the group and swung itself over to Jacen and the others. It bounced off the holographic viewing pane, shrieking loudly. Jaina shrieked, too, and Jacen gave a yell. "D'you see that?"

Anakin laughed. "I think maybe they're drunk!"

"Maybe they like to play drunk." Zekk grinned. "Like Jacen and Jaina."

Jaina made a face. "We don't _do_ that anymore."

"Yeah, we do!" Jacen grinned back at Zekk. His sister sometimes got it into her head that she had to be grown-up now, and that grown-ups didn't do fun things. Jacen knew that he had to get her to stop before she started actually believing it. He couldn't lose her to _them_. _They_ were the grown-ups, the other side, and if Jaina joined them then Jacen would lose a critical ally.

And so he started staggering around, knocking into Jaina and slurring his words, and Anakin laughed and joined in. They got stares and some laughter and smiles from the other people looking at the displays, which only fuelled Jacen's enthusiasm.

Zekk drew himself up in front of the next display, regarding it seriously. It showed blobs of various colours. Lando had told Jacen that people raced a related, non-extinct species on Umgul, which Jacen had always found bizarre. But he had to admit, as he watched one of these blobs propel itself around the display, they were pretty fast.

"Look, 's dessert," Zekk said gravely. He was swaying slightly.

"'s right," Jacen agreed. "If you c'n cashit."

"Eww," Jaina said.

"What?" Zekk gave her an offended look. "'s delicious!"

She shook her head at him, but she was laughing now. "Eww, no!"

Zekk raised an eyebrow and grinned at Jacen. "Think she wants a taste?"

Jacen grinned back. "Think we ought to educate her."

They grabbed hold of Jaina and pretended to shove her into the display, which dissolved into tickling and giggling and a very non-adult Jaina coming with them to the next display. She staggered into Jacen and he held her upright, a routine they'd perfected, and after that, the zoo became more fun.

Anakin insisted on seeing the tech section, where a loop hologram with a droid voice explained the technology behind the displays. Jacen stood against the wall, trying his best to whistle – he was getting better at it – and feeling slightly bored now that the others were engrossed in the hologram.

"Can we go yet?"

"Shush," Jaina said. "We're watching this! It's interesting."

Jacen stepped closer, for lack of anything else to do, and watched the animated display with about a quarter of the interest that Jaina and Anakin currently showed.

"You know," he said when the droid wound down, "it'd be more interesting if they did fun stuff with it."

"Fun stuff?" Jaina frowned. "What d'you mean?"

"I dunno." Jacen shrugged. "I mean, I like seeing the animals and all, but – if they can get them to do anything like the droid says, why don't they get them to do fun stuff?"

"The monkey lizards _were _funny," Anakin said.

Jacen grinned. "Yeah, but can you imagine if they were actually programmed to play drunk or something?"

Anakin considered that with typical seriousness. "I could make them do that."

Jaina gave him an incredulous look. "No you can't, you can't even access the computers!"

"Yeah, but if I could, I'd be able to," Anakin insisted. "I could make 'em do whatever we wanted."

Zekk grinned. "I should try to get a job here or something, then we could sneak in."

"Yeah, and you'd be fired," Jaina said, amused.

"I bet we could sneak in anyway," Jacen said. "It's just through that door back there." He concentrated, let his mind relax, and_ reached_… "And there's no one there, either. So if Anakin could get it open—"

Anakin was already at the door and was regarding the code panel. He cocked his head, as if listening. With a sort of fascinated horror, Jacen realised that his little brother was playing tricks on the surveillance cams. Before he could say anything, Anakin's hand hovered over the panel for a brief moment, then he closed his eyes and his index finger pressed down a few keys. The door glided smoothly open. He turned back to his siblings. "Yup, can definitely get it open."

Jacen stared at him, feeling his giddiness drain away. That was the thing with Anakin. You joked about trying something, and if he liked the idea or the challenge, he just went and tried it. And succeeded.

"I'm pretty sure that's against the rules," Zekk said, but he sounded like he was only saying it because Leia had left him in charge.

"I want to have a look now," Jaina said. "I wanna see it for real."

"Hold on," Jacen said, "I don't think—"

She was already at the door and turned back to grin at him. "What's the matter, scaredy-pants?"

And with that, she and Anakin disappeared into the room. Jacen sighed and looked at Zekk. "Guess we better get 'em back."

Zekk nodded. Then he grinned. "It's never boring with you guys, that's for sure. Come on."

By the time Jacen had palmed the door closed, Jaina and Anakin were already bent over the displays at the computer station.

"He's in," Jaina announced when Zekk and Jacen stepped closer. "Pretty lax security around here."

Jacen wasn't sure about that. But Anakin was used to the security at the old Imperial Palace, so…

"What are you actually _doing_?" Zekk asked.

"Reprogramming the animals," Jaina said, as if they'd been through this a hundred times already. "I think we should make 'em dance."

At that moment, Jacen realised that they were in to their necks already. His siblings weren't going to back out now. And really, why was _he _trying to stop them, anyway? Maybe it wasn't just Jaina who got occasional attacks of adulthood. That was a bad notion.

So Jacen grinned, and plunged in head-first. "I think you should make 'em sing, too."

"Sing?" Jaina stared, but he could tell that she liked the way he was thinking now. "Sing what?"

The idea struck faster than light and Jacen grinned at his sister. "Drunk songs."

"Should be easy enough," Zekk said. "Not a very complicated tune. You can just distort the sounds they normally make…"

It didn't take long in the end. After about fifteen minutes, Jaina looked up. "Jacen, go stand by the door. Get ready to open it. We'll have to disappear pretty fast."

"Do we have a plan?" Jacen asked. It was always a good question to ask before you did anything.

"Uh…" Jaina wasn't good at plans. Usually, Jacen took care of the plan, and she took care of the details. And Anakin took care of the bits that normal kids couldn't do.

"I'll trick the cams again," Anakin announced, getting up. "Jaina, hit that key when I say."

"Okay, so once you do that, we get out of here," Jacen said. "Anakin, make sure the door locks when we leave. All we have to do is get back into the zoo and enjoy the show with everyone else. If anyone asks, we left the tech room a few minutes ago and didn't see anything."

"Sounds good," Zekk said. He went to stand at the door with Jacen. "You can tell if there's someone out there, right?"

"Yeah." Jacen let his eyes flutter closed. There were two presences out there, maybe three. He shook his head and waited until they left. He could tell that Jaina was getting impatient – that happened fast – but he really didn't want to run into anyone out there.

A few minutes later, the room was empty again. He opened his eyes. "Anakin, now!"

There was a few moments' hesitation, then his little brother nodded. "Okay, Jaina, go." He palmed the door open. Jacen felt a little thrill of fear and exhilaration as he hurried out into the tech room with Zekk. Anakin and Jaina joined them seconds later, Anakin calm and earnest, Jaina trying to suppress her giggles.

They had just left the tech room when Jacen heard it. What had, until now, been a mixture of different animal calls, was now forming itself into a recognisable tune, still made up of the same animal sounds. Jaina and Anakin had done a pretty good job, he thought as everyone around them did a double-take and stared at the animals. The tune was definitely recognisable.

Beside him, Jaina dissolved into giggles. The thrill of fear turned into laughter as Jacen held onto his sister, sharing the familiar delight in a prank well done. Around them, others were laughing, too, as the animals continued to dance and sing.

Anakin's face was a study in pure joy as he watched the display of dancing and singing Ithorian monkey lizards. Zekk was hunched over, hands braced against his thighs as he tried to breathe through his laughter. Jaina and Jacen stood braced against each other, sharing a single thought: This was a whole new _level_ of prank.

A voice came over the intercom a while later, talking about experiencing technical difficulties – which sent Jaina and Zekk into new fits of laughter – and apologising for the inconvenience. Then the displays went blank.

"We should probably get out of here," Jacen said, tugging at Jaina's hand. Anakin bounced beside him as they walked towards the exit. The crowd around them was still laughing, still looking amused as staff members apologised again and told them that they would, of course, receive coupons for a free visit to make up for it.

It was a good prank, Jacen decided. Even the ticket ladies no longer looked bored. In fact, pretty much everyone looked like they were in a good mood.

"So," Zekk said when they'd made it out of the zoo. "You said something about a sweet shop? My treat."

Jaina grinned up at him, wiping tears from her eyes and still fighting with the giggles. "Not sure we need any sugar at this rate," she said, "but sure! Lead on."

* * *

The rest of the day was a study in sticking to instructions. Jacen and Jaina called their mother, and Zekk waited with them in the pick-up area in front of the zoo until Leia's speeder arrived.

That evening, though, the HoloNet news ran a headline which said "Tavern songs at Coruscant Holographic Zoo". Jacen saw his father frown at the screen, which until then hadn't really held his interest. Then he grinned and turned up the volume. "Leia? Come here, you should see this!"

Jacen couldn't quite prevent the sense of anticipation he felt as his family watched the news report. It was going to come out now. His and Jaina's pranks always did.

And sure enough, Leia turned around to him and said, "You should have been at the zoo when that happened. How come you didn't tell me about it?"

"Uhm," Jacen said.

"We didn't think it was important?" Jaina tried.

Han dialled down the volume and turned to look at his kids. "The animals started dancing and singing Corellian tavern songs, and you didn't think it was _important_?"

Leia sighed and shook her head, looking worried. "Please tell me you actually went to the zoo."

"We did!" Jacen said, glad to be able to answer at least one question honestly.

"But you didn't notice this?" Han asked.

"We did it." That was Anakin, looking up at his parents from where he sat on the floor, completely unfazed by the questioning, completely free of guilt.

Leia stared at him. "What?"

"We did it," Jaina said, the admission a lot more reluctant coming from her. "Me and Anakin. We reprogrammed the animals—"

"We all did it," Jacen said, because if they were going to get in trouble, he'd go along with them either way. Besides, his parents would never believe that Jaina and Anakin had played a prank without him.

They recounted the full story, with occasional comments from Anakin that no one could really get much sense from. When they wound down, there was silence. And then Han burst out laughing. "I don't believe it."

"Han!" Leia gave him a look that tried to be admonishing. Han only managed an apologetic shrug and a look that said 'but it's _funny_!' in between more fits of laughter. Jacen shot a secret grin at his sister. It was always a good sign when their father laughed at one of their pranks.

But even their mother couldn't keep a straight face this time. Her features softened, and then she shook her head and started laughing, too. "Didn't I tell you to follow the rules?"

"The rules don't say anything about tavern songs," Jaina said, giving her parents a winning smile.

"They say something about going into the computer room," Leia said. "They say 'don't'."

"Yeah, but—" Jacen began.

"Hold on." Han dialled up the volume again.

"…has said that the zoo has had numerous requests to see the unusual display again," the news voice said. "The zoo has not released a statement, but in an interview, management officials allowed that if the display proves popular enough, it may become part of the zoo's regular program. They have also confirmed that the zoo will not press charges…"

The rest of the report was lost to gales of laughter.

"You kids," Han said eventually, shaking a finger at them. "Can't you ever stay out of trouble?"

"We didn't get into trouble!" Jaina protested.

"You_ caused_ trouble," Leia said.

"That's not the same," Jacen said. "Besides, they liked it! Everyone just laughed at it and thought it was funny!"

Leia sighed, but she was smiling. "I'm going to offer to reimburse them for the tickets they gave away, at least," she said. "And apologise to them."

"You're gonna tell them we did it?" Jaina asked.

"Of course," Leia said. "You have to take responsibility."

Jacen made a face. His mother was a stickler for responsibility.

"Don't worry, they already said they won't press charges." Han reached over to ruffle Jacen's hair. "If they do keep the singing animals, you're going to have to take your Dad there sometime and show him, you know." He winked. "I like Corellian tavern songs."


	10. Cookies and Chaos

**Baking**

_(Set in 16 ABY.)_

The kitchen was spacious, modern, and currently bearing a remarkable resemblance to a battlefield. An unusually tasty, sweet battlefield, but the more Winter thought about it, the more apt the comparison seemed. Granted, they were supposedly engaged in creating, rather than destroying, but in all honesty, it was hard to tell.

"Don't play with the dough, Jaina," she said. "It's food, not a toy, remember?"

Across the table, Jaina looked up. She was liberally dusted with flour, a smear of dough across her forehead and nose. Beside her, Jacen looked much the same, only with tangled hair to add more chaos to the picture. Not that, Winter thought, the Solo home really needed more chaos.

"I'm not playing!" Jaina said earnestly. "I'm baking. Look, I'm making an X-Wing!"

She held up a fistful of dough. Bits of it fell off in the process, landing in the flour that covered the table's worktop – and all three Solo children. Jaina scowled. "Port S-foils fell off. Hold on."

Winter didn't see what happened to the S-foils because another voice sought her attention. "Winter?"

Anakin was sitting across the corner from her, holding a cookie cutter in his hand and looking slightly puzzled. "I can't fit any more."

She looked down at Anakin's stretch of dough. He had carefully cut and lifted out a variety of shapes, but no matter how much they interlocked and fit together, there was still dough left. Of course there was still dough left. That was the point.

"Then you gather it all up and squish it together," Winter said. "And roll it back out and go again. Remember how you did it last time?"

"Yeah." Anakin frowned at the dough. "Not a good shape," he declared. "Need to try something else." He looked back up at her, ice blue eyes intent. "Will you do it, please?"

She nodded and scooped the dough remnants off the table, reflecting that for a six-year-old with cookie cutters, Anakin had done a remarkable job fitting them together to use as much dough as possible. Like with most things, he'd found his own unique angle on baking, too.

Unlike his siblings. Winter showed Anakin how to reform the dough while keeping most of her attention on the twins.

"That's not an X-Wing," Jacen proclaimed, casting a critical look down at his sister's creation. He was kneeling on his chair, the better to reach across the worktop and steal cookie cutters from Anakin. "It doesn't look like one at all."

"Does too," Jaina retorted.

"No it doesn't." Jacen poked it.

"Pfft," Jaina said. "You don't even know what an X-Wing looks like."

"Yeah I do!" Jacen was indignant. "They look different. Yours looks way too lumpy."

"_You_ look lumpy," Jaina said immediately. That was the Wes Janson method of arguing, newly introduced by the very same only two weeks prior, and seized by all three kids with unerring instinct for such things.

"'least my cookies don't," Jacen shot back.

As an answer, Jaina took a lump of cookie dough and squashed it onto whatever Jacen had been making. "Now they do." She laughed, the edgy giggle that both twins used when they had just done something wrong, and were surprised and terrified at their own daring. And more than a bit guilty.

"_Jaina!_" Jacen yelled, and then he immediately looked over at Winter, brown eyes wide in victim's appeal. "Winter, she ruined all my cookies!"

"I saw," Winter said, giving silent thanks that at least Jacen had opted for "telling" instead of retaliation; there was no way she could have got there in time to stop it, and she didn't much fancy being caught in a full-blown food fight. She put down Anakin's cookie dough and found her reprimand voice. "Jaina?"

"He started it," Jaina said, her voice sullen. But she was looking down at the table, poking at little bits of dough as if they were the most interesting thing in the world.

"It doesn't matter who started it," Winter said. She had learned long ago that yelling and getting involved would get you absolutely nowhere – in fact, it would make matters worse. She had learned that long before she'd ever looked after children herself. And so, she avoided it like Tycho avoided head-on shootouts in simulations. "Would you like it if Jacen destroyed your cookies?"

"He started it," Jaina repeated. Jacen was silent, watching, clever enough to know that retorting now would not help his own case. Not that it would do much good – he was next. Jaina's reaction had been more out of proportion than usual this time, but Jacen wasn't entirely innocent, either. She'd talk to him about goading his sister when she was finished with Jaina. It was best to take these things one at a time.

"_Jaina._ Would you like it if Jacen destroyed your cookies?"

The answer, when it came, was quiet. "No."

"No. You guys had an argument, and that happens. But when you run out of things to say, you don't start hurting people, you start resolving the argument."

"But—"

"No but," Winter said firmly. "You can't go around destroying things just because someone said something you didn't like. Especially not if you're going to be a Jedi. Do you know anybody who'd do that?"

There were tears in Jaina's eyes now. "But he said – but I don't – " She struggled down from her chair. "I'm not _bad_!"

"Of course you're not," Winter said. "But doing something to hurt Jacen doesn't solve the argument, does it?"

Jaina stopped halfway to the door, face reddening as the tears began to fall. Winter had to remind herself to stay seated, to give Jaina the time she needed to accept that she'd done wrong before she tried to comfort the girl. Sympathy or no, it was always better to let these things run their course. "But I didn't _wanna_ hurt Jacen!" Jaina yelled.

"She didn't really," Jacen said quickly. Winter covered her surprise as he unfolded himself to slide down to the floor and go after his sister. "You didn't really, Jaya."

"I just got mad," Jaina said, sniffing.

Jacen glanced back up at Winter, the look on his face almost an exact replica of the one Han wore when trying to make amends with someone – usually Leia. "It was kinda my fault," he said. "I provoked her."

Winter couldn't quite prevent her eyebrows from lifting. "Destroying your cookies still wasn't right," she said. "But maybe we can solve it instead now, do you think? Jaina?"

Jaina pressed her lips together and nodded, still sniffing occasionally.

"Well, how about you help Jacen make new cookies?" Winter asked. "And Jacen, why don't you try to help Jaina with her X-Wing, maybe you can get it right together?"

The twins resumed their seats, Jacen seeming almost as relieved as Jaina. It was one of the unique challenges that they presented; it seemed rare enough that they would voluntarily share the punishment on the rare occasion that only one of them got in trouble. Standing up for each other during the repercussions of a fight between them – that was definitely not standard sibling behaviour. But Winter knew that the bond they shared was close. Close enough that Jacen had probably felt his sister's discomfort, and her despair at the thought of hurting him, and no amount of triumph at being in the right for once – at least sort of – seemed to make up for that.

She watched them across the table, chattering as they now worked together. Jaina's face was still tear-stained and slightly red, but she laughed while Jacen made up some kind of story featuring – apparently – dancing cookie cutters and a lot of flour. Winter reminded them not to play with the dough, and turned back to Anakin, who had waited out the entire exchange with that intense interest that most people mistook for patience.

* * *

They had put the cookies into the oven to bake and Winter was just filling the icing into icing guns when the door opened.

"Stay in the kitchen!" Winter called before the kids could run out into the hall. "You're covered in flour!"

"Sounds like a productive day," came a familiar voice, and Han Solo strode through the kitchen door. He was not, as usual, accompanied by Chewbacca; the Wookiee avoided baking day whenever he possibly could.

There was a chorus of "Hi Daddy!" and the twins jumped out of their seats to run at their father.

"I made letter cookies!" Jacen said. "I made a H for you!"

"I made the _Falcon_!" Jaina spoke so quickly after Jacen that it almost sounded like the same child. "And Jacen and I made an X-Wing, too!"

Han winked at Winter and grinned down at his kids. "Wow! Well, I bet Tycho'll be happy to hear that." He half-turned to call over his shoulder, uniform already dusted with flour. "Come on in. It's not any worse than Janson's aftermaths."

Moments later, Tycho Celchu came into view, wearing an amused half-smile as he took in the chaos in the kitchen. "You know, "it's no worse than Janson" is not how you usually go about reassuring someone." His eyes found Winter, standing by the table, and his smile grew wider. "But X-Wing cookies sound good. Hi, sweetheart."

"Hey, you." She put down the mixer and went over to kiss him on the cheek. "I wasn't expecting you for another hour. What happened?"

Han and Tycho exchanged a long-suffering look. Han reached up to rub the back of his neck and gave her a wry look. "Janson happened," he said. He glanced at his kids. "Long story. Anyway, most of us were sent home early while they, ah, fix things."

"What did Janson do?" Anakin asked with blue-eyed interest.

Han gave his son a wide-eyed look and pointed a finger at him like a blaster. "Military secret. My boss won't like it if I tell you."

Winter smiled at Han's reluctance to go into detail in front of his kids. They loved hearing about Janson's pranks; unfortunately, they also loved replicating the doable ones. Apparently, this one was doable, in Han's opinion – which tended to be more reliable than Leia's. Even after seven years, Leia still underestimated her children's resourcefulness. Part of it, Winter knew, was that the Princess simply couldn't imagine kids doing things like that, because _she_ never had. Han, on the other hand, didn't seem to need to imagine.

"But Mom's your boss!" Jacen said. "Isn't she?"

"Sort of. That doesn't mean she'd like it if I told you." Han looked around. "Real question is, what did you do? It looks much worse in here than at work!"

"We made cookies!" Anakin said, as if insulted that Han even had to ask that.

"You can get to help us with the icing!" Jaina said, beaming at Han. "You can tell me how to do the Falcon properly!"

When Winter took out the trays with the finished cookies, she was already bracing herself for the inevitable disappointment that always accompanied the final results. Cookie dough always rose, distorting the shapes the children had made so carefully, and no amount of effort could prevent it. Fortunately, the fact that the swollen-up shapes could be iced and eaten always overrode the disappointment.

"Oh," Jaina said when Winter carefully scooped the cookies out onto the cooling racks. "Oh, no. It broke!" Her small face was solemn as she regarded her carefully made rendition of the _Millennium Falcon_, a wide crack running through the middle where the dough had ruptured.

"I guess Lando was flying it," Han said, to catch Jaina's mood before it fell. "Never mind, sweetie. We'll fix it up, okay? All you need it some engine tape and spare parts, see?" He brandished the icing gun, and Jaina's face brightened again.

While Han and Jaina fixed the _Falcon_, Tycho showed Jacen and Anakin how to make X-Wing cannons out of sugar sticks; after last week's attempt, Winter had convinced the twins that it would be better to add those afterwards. And suddenly, she was left with nothing to do except hand out candies for decorating. Anakin had managed to claim Tycho's lap, Jacen was sprawled halfway across the table as usual, and Jaina hunkered beside her father, eyes bright.

Winter smiled. It was chaotic, it was messy, it was unmistakably Solo – but it was also entirely adorable. Her thoughts went immediately to Leia, probably still stuck in a Senate meeting. The princess would want to see this.

She handed Tycho the candy bowl and went into the hallway to find the holorecorder.

On her way back, she came to an abrupt stop in the doorway. Jaina was lying on the table, giggling uncontrollably as Han rolled her back and forth like they had done to the dough only half an hour before. Someone – Tycho, Winter assumed – had saved both cookies and candy bowl and placed them on the counter. The blond pilot was leaning against the counter across the kitchen from her, watching the chaos with the expression of someone used to it. He caught her eye, grinned, and gave an encouraging nod at the holorecorder. Grinning back, Winter pressed the "record" button; this was even better than just stills.

Anakin stood on the chair that Tycho had left, bouncing on his feet and laughing while Han took cookie cutters and poked Jaina with them.

"Use the flower one!"

Han grinned at his youngest son and obeyed. "Right then, I guess we're about done – off into the oven with you!"

Jaina screeched and tried to escape, her face lit up by her laughter and covered in flour and smears of icing. As Winter watched, Jacen clambered up onto the table, avoided his sister's flailing legs as he made his way over to Han. Too late, Winter realised what the boy was holding in his hands.

Han yelled in comic outrage as Jacen emptied the flour container over his head and right shoulder. Flour clouded into the air, and Winter held her breath, instinctively waiting for the cheerful atmosphere to turn once again into chagrin, as it usually did when the kids' enthusiasm went that bit too far.

But the Han Solo approach to parenting was very different from Winter's and Leia's. Rather than call a stop, Han grabbed hold of Jacen and ruffled the boy's hair with a flour-covered hand.

"I think someone else wants to go in the oven!"

Jacen squealed as he was dumped on the table and first rolled around, then mercilessly tickled. Winter was never quite sure how he managed to balance boisterous playing with responsible parenting, but somehow, it never seemed to end in tears as someone got carried away. It was not something she could have managed; but then, it was not how she had been raised. She and Leia were the quiet discipline and Han and Chewbacca were – well, the exact opposite. It should have confused the kids, but somehow, like most Solo operations, it worked.

Han scooped Jacen back up, swung him around until the giggles subsided a bit, and grinned down at his eldest son. "I think it's bath time, what do you reckon?"

"You're dirtier!"

Han laughed and pretended to glare. "Hey, you dumped flour on me, kid. You can't use that against me."

"Daddy looks old!" Anakin crowed. "Hair's all white!"

"Like a grandpa!" added Jaina, who only knew grandfathers from stories and holofilms.

Han narrowed his eyes. "Don't you get any wrong ideas, young lady."

Jacen twisted his head to look at Winter. "Hey! Are you gonna take holos?"

Winter glanced down at the device in her hands and smiled. "Actually, I've just stopped recording," she said.

Tycho burst out laughing at the kids' surprised expressions. "That's one for the family archives, I'll bet."

Han was laughing, too. "Perfect. I'll have to send Luke a copy." He sobered slightly and looked down at his children. "You guys are filthy. Come on, off to the bath with you."

"And you!" Jacen insisted.

Han shook his head. "You first." He raised his eyebrows when Jacen was about to object. "So I don't have to start all over again if you decide to throw water at me."

"But water's _clean_!" Jaina said.

"And you're not," Han said, somehow turning the argument while ignoring most of it. "So I guess you'd better get into it, huh? Come on!"

Jacen had no choice, of course, still caught in Han's arms, but Jaina and Anakin fell into line behind their father as he strode out of the kitchen.

"I'll be back once I get these guys into the bath," he told Winter. "That all right?"

Winter nodded, pleasantly surprised at having her day's duties cut short. "That's fine. I'll finish up in here."

She heard Jaina's voice, insistent in the hallway, and could just imagine her tugging at her father's shirt: "But Daddy? Lando doesn't get any cookies, right? 'Cause he crashed the _Falcon_ again!"

And Han, sounding smug: "No, sweetie. No cookies for Lando. Serves him right."


	11. Broken and Mended

**Broken and Mended**

_(Set in 18 ABY.)_

The planet was called Krrprithkurya and no one except for See-Threepio had managed to pronounce it properly. Leia had tried; Han and the kids, in true Solo fashion, simply called it "the holiday planet". Lying on his back on the secluded veranda, looking up into the bright blue sky, Luke Skywalker found that he didn't much care what the place was called.

Han had booked this holiday as he booked most of them, looking for places that were pretty, peaceful, and far away from Coruscant. Leia wanted the first two; Han paid attention to the third. Luke had to admit that the arrangement definitely seemed to work. The villa that the Solos had lived in for the past two weeks was bright and airy, with a big garden and easy access to most of the things that a holiday needed. They'd gone hiking in the forest, swimming and boating on the wide river nearby, and gone on a tour of some old buildings that had fascinated the kids.

"Uncle Luke!"

Luke lifted a hand to shade his eyes and sat up. Jacen was trudging up the stairs with that shuffling gait that said that he was trying to hurry while being gentle. Luke focussed on his nephew's cupped hands. Another animal.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Look what I found!" Jacen's grin was a child version of Han's, eliciting a smile from Luke almost automatically. It was hard not to smile at Jacen when he was enthusiastic about something. At almost ten years of age, he resembled Han more than Leia, but the open delight in his eyes and his easy way with people came straight from his mother.

Jacen knelt down in front of Luke, and Luke obediently looked at the animal sitting on the boy's palms. It was a rodent of some kind, glossy black eyes peering curiously at its surroundings, the bushy dark blue tail moving slowly from side to side.

"Wow," Luke said. "Where did you find him?"

"Her," Jacen corrected, although how he knew that was beyond Luke. "She was sitting under a bush. I think she was looking for food for her kids. I'll bring her back in a minute," he added with a glance at Luke, clearly anticipating the admonishment. "I just thought – can I give her something from the kitchen?"

Luke suppressed a sigh. He was pretty sure that normal people were supposed to tell their kids not to go near wild creatures, even if it was just to avoid giving them a wrong scent or making them dependent on humans. So he tried. "You know animals have to find their own food, Jacen."

"Sure." Jacen was absently stroking the creature. It didn't seem to mind. As Luke watched, he could have sworn that it leaned into Jacen's palm, clearly at ease. "But she's already learned how to do that. Feeding her once won't make her forget. And I did kinda promise her food."

Well, that was that, Luke thought wryly. So much for acting like normal people. "Come on then. We'll find something. What is it, anyway?"

Jacen shrugged – carefully, so as not to disturb the creature on his palm. "I dunno. I guess I should look it up. But she eats insects, mostly, and some kinds of berries, I think."

"Well, we can have a look," Luke said as he strode towards the house. "But I don't think we really serve bugs in this house, you know?"

Jacen laughed. "Imagine if we did. Dad would have a fit."

"They're not exactly my favourite food, either," Luke said.

The house was empty; since it was their last day, Luke had offered to watch the kids while Han and Leia got some time together. With Chewbacca visiting his own family back on Kashyyyk, Luke had effectively taken over the role of babysitter, but he didn't mind. It wasn't often that he got to spend this much time with his niece and nephews.

He found some dried fruit in one of the storage compartments that Jacen pronounced perfect, and poured himself a glass of chilled juice mix before heading back outside. By that time, Jacen had already disappeared into the garden.

It took less than half an hour before Anakin showed up.

"Uncle Luke? Can I have some cookies?"

Luke raised his eyebrows. It had been little over an hour since lunch. "Cookies?"

"Or something else," Anakin said, giving Luke an earnest look with those clear blue eyes. "It's not too close to dinner yet!"

"Are you hungry already?" Luke asked.

"Oh, they're for the campfire," Anakin said.

"Fire?" Luke said, a sudden jolt shooting through him. By all rights, there should not have been any means of starting a fire in the garden, but he'd learned over the past nine years that theory meant very little when it came to Force-sensitive kids. "What fire?"

Anakin seemed to sense Luke's concern, because he giggled and shook his head. "Not a_ real_ fire, Uncle Luke," he said, his tone making it clear that Luke was being silly. "We're just pretending! Our ship crashed, and we had to build a camp, and now Jacen is making firewood and Jaina is building a fire and I have to hunt for food!"

Luke couldn't quite help being relieved. "I see. I guess you didn't bring any rations?"

"They exploded when the ship blew up," Anakin said seriously. "After the crash."

"Wow. You're luck you got out in time, huh?" Luke got to his feet. "Okay, little Jedi, let's see what we've got."

He sent Anakin back to the camp with a box full of glowwa fruit and a small pack of cereal cookies. Whatever that game involved, it lasted for quite a while. Luke lay back on the veranda, enjoying the sun on his face and the sounds of the wildlife around him. He could hear the kids occasionally – Jacen's yell, Jaina's shriek, Anakin's laughter – but even those sounds seemed peaceful.

He reached out with the Force, just floating his senses out into the garden, feeling the life around him. The kids exuded that busy, fast-switching happiness that usually accompanied their games. Life in the garden went on around them, largely oblivious, or at least not too bothered. Luke sighed. It wasn't how he'd want to spend every day, but occasionally, it was the best kind of luxury to be able to lie back and do nothing for a couple of hours.

A sharp spike of pain jolted into the mix of life, and happiness turned to alarm as Luke sat up. Slightly disoriented at the sudden switch, he squinted into the sunlight and got to his feet. Someone was hurt. One of the kids was hurt.

He'd just made it down the steps when Jacen appeared, running towards him along the little path that led down into the garden.

"Uncle Luke!" The boy's eyes were wide. "Jaina's hurt!"

"Come on," Luke said, because he knew that Jacen would never stay behind if he'd told him to. He tore along the path towards Jaina's Force presence.

He found her under a tree, sitting near to what he guessed was the children's campfire. Anakin hunkered beside her, holding one of her hands, eyes intent on her face. She looked up as Luke approached, tears shining in her brown eyes, her features pale but determined. Odd, but seeing her served to assuage some of Luke's concern – she was, at least, still conscious, and he couldn't see any blood.

Luke dropped down beside her. "What is it, Jaina?"

"My _leg_," she said, and he could hear the pain in her voice. Her lips pressed together the way that Leia's did when she was trying to will away her emotions. He could feel her pain now, concentrated on her right leg, which was stretched almost straight out before her. "I fell and—"

"Shh," Luke said, taking her free hand in his. "Shh. It'll be all right. Let me have a look."

He put his other hand on her leg, as gentle as he could manage, and reached out with the Force. It was a matter of moments to determine that the bone was broken, which he'd already suspected from the way her leg was lying there. What surprised him was the effort that had already gone into dealing with the pain. Jaina's, and Anakin's, too.

With the crunch of small boots on grass and a huff of breath, Jacen dropped to the ground beside Anakin, his arm immediately going around Jaina's shoulders.

"Your leg's broken," Luke told Jaina. He got to his feet and scooped her up into his arms. "Come on. I'm going to get you to the medcenter. You boys come along, okay?"

"And they're gonna fix it, right?" Jacen demanded, falling into step. Anakin followed, silent.

"Yes, they'll fix it. No problem." Luke put as much reassurance into the words as he could. In his arms, Jaina was quiet, the occasional tear still slipping down her face. "Jaina?"

She looked up at him. "It hurts," she said quietly.

"I know," he told her. "Hang in there."

He did his best for her while he walked, taking away the pain and keeping her leg still with the Force. He felt the boys' efforts adding to his, Jacen's hand never leaving Jaina's as they walked back towards the house.

When he'd signalled the medcenter and stowed all three kids into the speeder, he asked, "So what exactly happened?"

"I was climbing," Jaina said from the back. She was still pale, dark eyes seeming even darker against her pallid skin. The shock, Luke thought, but with his and the boys' help, she seemed to be getting over it already. "I dunno—"

"She was climbing the tree," Jacen said from beside her. "One of the branches was slippery and a bit rotten, and she lost her balance and fell. Landed on her leg, and it hurt real bad. So I ran to get you."

Of course; Jacen would have felt it almost as Jaina had, with the twins' direct line to each other's perceptions. Sometimes, Luke wondered what he and Leia would have been like if they'd grown up together the way the twins had. Wondered if, maybe, the connection that had saved him on Cloud City would have paled in comparison.

"Did we do it right, Uncle Luke?" Luke could see the blue of Anakin's eyes out of the corner of his own, looking at him from the passenger's seat. "I couldn't help her as good as Jacen, but he's faster."

It took Luke a moment to get it, but then he nodded, once again surprised at how well the kids worked together. In a matter of moments, the boys had divided the tasks – Anakin staying with Jaina, while Jacen ran for help. At this stage, he figured, he really shouldn't be surprised anymore. "You did it right," he said, keeping his voice calm and sure. "You did it exactly right. You were very clever about it."

"Do I have to go in bacta?" Jaina asked.

Luke smiled to hear the reluctance in her voice. Being picky about methods of treatment was a sure-fire indicator that the shock, at least, was receding. "Probably not," he said. "Maybe your leg, but I doubt they'll put you in a tank."

His comlink beeped just then, and he took it out and thumbed it on without looking. "Hey Leia."

"Luke." Even over the comlink's tiny speaker, the worry in Leia's voice was obvious. "What happened?"

"No need to panic," he assured her. "Jaina fell and broke her leg. We're on our way in to the medcenter now."

"Oh, Force." It came out as a long sigh. "All right. We'll meet you there. How is she?"

"Can I talk to Mom?" Jaina asked.

"She's fine," Luke told his sister. "She wants to talk to you."

He passed the comlink back. As he drove on, he heard stubbornness creep into Jaina's voice.

"But you guys are supposed to have a day together today," she protested. "You don't have to come to the medcenter. But you don't _have_ to. But Jacen's here, and Uncle Luke said it's not bad. But _Mom_..."

Part of it was token protest, Luke knew. The last thing Jaina wanted to do was cry for Mommy, not when she was almost ten years old. And part of it was genuine reluctance to spoil her parents' day, not realising that neither of her parents would enjoy it anyway when they knew that their little girl was in the medcenter.

He caught the gist of it as Leia explained just that to Jaina, and smiled as the girl gave in. Ten years old or not, having Mom and Dad around still made everything better, whether she would admit it or not.

Not five minutes later, he pulled into the big parking area outside the medcenter, shooed the boys out of the speeder, and lifted Jaina back into his arms.

Medcenters were more or less the same on every planet. The emergency section, especially, had become all too familiar over the years. It was almost strange that there was no blood. Seeing his niece sit there, patient on the medical bed while Jacen hovered beside her, brought back a flood of memories and he had to fight a momentary panic. It was okay. It was only her leg. This wasn't a war casualty, and no one was screaming.

He filled in the form that the medic handed him and signed his name, a familiar routine. Over the years, it had felt all too often like signing someone's life away.

"Uncle Luke?" Anakin was tugging at his sleeve. "It's just a ghost."

Luke didn't even try to figure out how Anakin had caught that. He smiled and lifted the boy up, although at eight years of age, he was getting far too big to be held in his arms like that. "I know," he said. "It's gone now."

Anakin's eyes were on his sister. "What happens now?"

Luke set Anakin down on the foot end of the bed and sat down beside him. "Now we have to wait for the medic to come back," he said, speaking to all three children. "Then they'll bring Jaina into another room to be examined. We're going to have to wait outside, but it won't take long. Then they'll put her leg in a bacta cast."

"So that the bones can grow back together," Jacen said.

"Exactly." Luke looked at Jaina. "Once they've done that, I can speed the healing up with the Force. But the bone needs to be set right first, so that it'll grow back together straight."

Of course, given the need, he could probably have set it himself and put Jaina into a healing trance. But the medcenter was nearby, and it was hardly an emergency. And he knew that Han and Leia wanted their kids to experience life as normally as possible, a goal he agreed with. As Leia had put it, how could Jedi hope to help others if they couldn't understand how those others lived and felt?

He took the boys by the hand when the medics came back, and followed one of the droids' directions to a small waiting area near the examination room. Keeping half a mind's eye on Jaina, he sat with Anakin on his lap and Jacen beside him, and waited. Medcenters were boring, especially for kids, so it didn't take two minutes before the boys were up and engaged in some kind of game which involved stepping on certain parts of the tiled floor. It never failed to amaze Luke how quickly the kids managed to come up with games, and he sat back with a smile and just watched them.

And waited until the medical assistant showed up to take him and the boys up to see Jaina.

* * *

"I got a repulsorchair!" Jaina crowed as soon as she set eyes on her brothers. Luke strode into the small ward after the boys. Jaina's bed stood at the far end, one away from the tall windows and adjoining balcony. The little girl beside her was sitting up, watching wide-eyed as the two boys scampered over to their sister.

"Cool!" Jacen clambered onto the bed beside his sister. "Did you get a cast?"

"Yep!" Jaina displayed it with no small amount of pride. It was thick and heavy, a big white lump which made the rest of her leg look impossibly skinny.

"How're you feeling?" Luke asked as he joined the others by the bed.

"Fine. They gave me stuff for the pain." Her face twisted. "And they said I shouldn't be afraid of the needle, but I _wasn't_. And they gave me a kid plaster for it, too!"

She displayed it. The back of her hand featured an antiseptic strip in the shape of a brightly-coloured avian. The look Jaina gave it spoke volumes; the assumption that she needed to be treated like a little girl was clearly the height of insult. Luke couldn't help but grin. It was good to see his niece feeling so much better.

He felt Leia's presence approaching then, and Anakin raced out of the ward and down the corridor. He reappeared moments later, his hand in Leia's. Leia has a bright smile for them all as she headed towards her daughter and sat down in the chair by the bed. "Hi, sweetie! How're you feeling?"

"Gave us a bit of a fright there, kiddo." Han was right on the heels of his wife, and went straight to Jaina's other side. "Everything all right?"

"I'm fine." Jaina didn't seem too concerned with her actual injury anymore. "I got a repulsorchair, look! And a cast. The medic said we can draw on it."

"They want to keep her here for a night," Luke told his sister. "Just to make sure everything's okay."

"But we have to leave real early tomorrow!" Anakin chimed in, looking concerned.

"Don't worry," Leia said, pulling Anakin onto her lap. "We'll figure it out."

"Do I really have to stay here?" Jaina asked, her excitement fading visibly. "All night?"

"One of us will stay with you," Leia assured her. "We're not leaving you here alone, don't worry about that, okay?"

That seemed to alleviate most of Jaina's worries. She nodded. "Okay."

The rest of the day passed in a rush of activity; Luke took the boys to get some food, Leia went to collect some clothes and other things for her and Jaina for the night, and Han did his best to entertain Jaina while she waited for everyone else to come back. And then he called Coruscant to convince them that Leia would be a day late. Luke listened to him deliver that news, and hid a smile as he prepared to watch how this one played out.

"A whole day?" Leia gave Han an incredulous look. "Jaina's going to be out of here by tomorrow noon at the latest."

He shrugged, looking innocent. "Well, you know, the paperwork always takes longer than expected. They should know all about that, right? Then I figure we gotta pack, because today's been far too stressful to even think about it. And it's always more complicated when you're travelling with someone who's injured..."

Leia gave her husband a look. "_Han_."

His expression cracked into a grin. "Oh come on, Leia. They can wait until you get back until the next interstellar crisis. They always do. Don't worry."

"Don't worry." She sighed and shook her head. "I wish you'd waited until I—"

"Oh, no." He shook his head. "You're far too busy worrying about Jaina. Injured little girls need their Mommy." He winked at Jaina, which seemed to work as an apology for his words even as he said them. "Besides, I'm better at arguing with them than you are."

Her eyebrows shot up. "Is that right?"

"Yep." He grinned again. "Your job's to reach compromises. Mine's to annoy them until they give me what I want."

Leia shook her head, but the admonishment had faded and she was smiling. "You're impossible."

"That's what they say, sweetheart."

She reached up to kiss him on the cheek. "Thank you."

The next day, Luke arrived with Han and the boys to find a bored Jaina, and a sympathetic Leia doing her best to keep her entertained. She looked up when the others came in and offered a helpless shrug and a smile. "We're still waiting for the medics to give her the okay."

"How're you doing, sweetie?" Han sat on the side of the bed.

Jaina scoffed. "Bored."

"Tried out your repulsorchair yet?"

"Yeah. There's nowhere to go."

Han considered that. "Huh. Have you tried racing?"

"_Han_," Leia said, aghast.

"No one to race against," Jaina said.

"All right, all right." He thought some more, then grinned. "How about an obstacle course?"

Jaina looked up, bored expression receding. "What's that?"

Jacen helped Han spread out a few coats and cushions to create a winding course that Jaina then had to navigate with the repulsorchair. Luke half-expected Leia to object, but she sat, smiling, as the boys demanded a turn and Han sat with Jaina on his lap and cheered them on. When they suggested timing each run, though, Han shook his head, saying that it would get too wild and competitive. Luke sat back beside Leia and watched. No harm in it, really.

The little girl in the bed beside Jaina's watched and cheered loudly, looking delighted at the unexpected entertainment.

When the medic did show up, he gave Jaina a short examination and then told Han and Leia that he would prefer to keep her in the medcenter until the evening, at least, "just to make absolutely sure she's okay."

Leia shook her head. "It's only a broken leg. And we're not going to the Outer Rim or anything, we're heading back to Coruscant. She'll be fine."

"Just so, ma'am, I'd prefer to make sure..."

Han cast a pointed glance at his daughter, back at the controls of the repulsor chair and currently navigating an asteroid field at maximum speed while her brothers ran interference of some sort. "She doesn't look very sick to me."

"Well, no, but—"

"I'd really appreciate it if we could take her home now," Leia said firmly. "You know how children are. The medcenter really isn't the best place for her, she's bored out of her mind."

"Yes, ma'am, but if there's an unexpected problem, it'd be much easier if she were still here."

"If there's an unexpected problem, we'll come back," Leia said.

"You can't keep her in here until the leg heals," Han added.

Leia nodded. "She'll be much happier at home. And if there's a problem, we'll call."

The medic looked unhappy. Han breathed out a sigh and leaned forward slightly. It wasn't a threatening gesture, not quite, but Luke saw the medic flinch slightly as Han said, "Look, just sign the release form, all right? I'll take full responsibility. Promise."

"You two have that routine down pretty well," Luke said a few minutes later, when they'd packed their things and were on the way out to the rented speeder.

Leia smiled up at him. "We've had practice."

"Medics are tougher than politicians, though," Han said philosophically, watching his kids race ahead, Jacen pushing Jaina's repulsorchair to make it go faster. "I guess it's because they know if something happens, they'll be looked after straightaway."

Luke raised his eyes at his brother-in-law, admonishing. "You wouldn't."

"I know that." Han flashed him a grin. "But they don't."

"Uncle Luke!" That was Anakin, running back to them with something like indignation in his eyes. "Uncle Luke, how hard is it to break a bone?"

Luke got the distinct impression that he didn't want to give an unqualified answer to that. "Why?"

Anakin pointed at the repulsorchair. "'Cause I _want_ one!"

Luke couldn't help but laugh, Han and Leia with him. He shook his head and bent down to pick his nephew up. "You don't need one," he said. "We can do better than that, see? You're already flying!"

And then he ran after Jacen and Jaina, Anakin squealing delightedly as Luke tucked him under his arm, to join in whatever game they were playing this time.


End file.
